Slash's Revenge
by CJtheStoryteller
Summary: Set after 'Slash and Destroy.' Slash is out for revenge against Raphael for betraying him and he has decided the best way to hurt the turtle in red is through his brothers. Slash has his eyes set on one brother in particular and he will stop at nothing to even the score. **2017 TMNT Universal Reader's Choice Awards Winner**
1. Chapter 1 - Stalking His Prey

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: After months of indecision, I have finally worked up the courage to post the first chapter of my story, 'Slash's Revenge.' This work in progress is a sequel to my short story 'Mikey's Worst Move Ever.' *Just so you know, you don't have to read 'Mikey's Worst Move Ever' prior to reading 'Slash's Revenge.' There will be a few references to 'MWME,' but none that are critical to the plot line of this new story. ;) Speaking of 'MWME' . . . I want to give a huge thanks to all the readers who have already checked out that story. I appreciate it very much.* C8_**

 ** _Okay, about 'Slash's Revenge.' Whereas 'Mikey's Worst Move Ever' is a comedy that transpires just hours before the episode 'Slash and Destroy,' 'Slash's Revenge' is a suspenseful, multi-chapter story that takes place a few weeks after the same episode. I will warn you in advance that the story is going to get rather intense. Slash is not a very nice turtle in this one . . ._**

 _ **Please take the time to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on 'Slash's Revenge' if you want me to continue with it. I wrote the first twelve chapters of this story over a year ago now and I've been debating on whether or not I should pick up where I left off, so the feedback would be much-appreciated. Thank you so much! ;) CJ**_

 _ **Okay, on with the story . . .**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Stalking His Prey**

For the better part of two weeks now, he had been covertly watching their movements from afar. He had had plenty of time to study their nocturnal activities while he continued to recover from his physical wounds incurred during their last encounter.

The healing process had proven to be rather difficult, but he supposed he should have expected that. After all, freefalling over the edge of a multi-story building down to the sidewalk below does tend to take a serious toll on the body.

No human being could have possibly survived such a fall.

Fortunately for him, he was no human being. Not so fortunately for the unsuspecting concrete slab that had been crushed beneath the tremendous weight of his impact.

Staring over the ledge of the building that he was currently posted at, he rolled his massive shoulders back and grimaced at the pain that still dwelled deep within his muscles and joints. He then cast a bitter gaze at the building across the street, where the very sources of his discomfort were out 'patrolling' as they had always liked to call it.

After fourteen days of spying on them from the shadows of adjacent rooftops, he was getting to be a bit of an expert on their nighttime rituals. Not that it took a whole lot of brainpower to memorize their routine. The four of them were most definitely creatures of habit, essentially following the same song and dance number, night after night. This came as no great surprise to him. They were nothing if not predictable.

 _Fools_ . . .

He was all too familiar with their tedious ways, having spent most of his life silently observing the brothers from the confines of the place they referred to as 'the lair.' Up until a couple of weeks ago, that 'lair' had been the only real home he had ever known. But now, he was no longer welcome there.

Not since his mutation . . .

Not since the night he had been transformed into 'Slash' . . .

During his time in 'the lair,' Slash had always been the closest to the most temperamental one of the siblings. This one had expressed a rare soft spot for him, and _only_ him it had seemed. This brother wore a red bandana and went by the name of Raphael.

Raphael had found Slash in his unmutated form shortly after he had been flushed down into the sewers and left for dead. In an uncharacteristic act of kindness, the brother in red had taken the smaller turtle in, named him 'Spike,' and cared for him as his pet. Raphael had treated Spike/Slash with far more compassion than he had ever shown his three brothers. In addition, he had oftentimes confided things in his four-legged friend that he had never shared with anyone else.

As time went on, it became clear to Slash that, out of the four brothers, Raphael was consistently the most impulsive one. He was also the most quarrelsome one, always questioning orders and never backing down from a fight. He was highly explosive and crazy stubborn. Raphael was easily the strongest of the siblings and he showed the most ambition to get things done.

Slash had always looked up to Raphael. Everything the then-'pet' turtle had come to understand of the world, he had learned from what the hotheaded ninja had shown and taught him. Raphael was like the brother Slash had never had.

That is, until he went and betrayed him . . .

Slash squinted over at the rooftop where the four brothers were presently gathered in a loose circle, presumably discussing strategies for the evening. He could see that Raphael was demonstrating his usual impatience with both his oldest brother's penchant for longwinded tactical speeches and his youngest brother's proneness to bellyaching and mischief making.

The youngest one had always been the most annoying of the four brothers, and in Slash's opinion, the least useful by leaps and bounds.

The orange-banded brother called Michelangelo was constantly fooling around and pigging out on pizza or whatever else he could get his hands on (edible and sometimes not). The youngest one spoke considerably louder than anyone else in the room at all times, as if starved for attention even though they all babied him nonstop. Michelangelo was an immature, little runt that was constantly breaking stuff or screwing things up, but yet, they all put up with him for some strange reason. Maybe that's because they felt sorry for him since he wasn't exactly the sharpest crayon in the box.

What Slash had learned from his recent nighttime observations was that Michelangelo sometimes liked to sneak away from 'the lair' just to have a little fun. The youngest one spent a lot of time skateboarding across rooftops or grinding the rails at a local park. He also appeared to like to chase after stray animals and give them ridiculous names. Basically, all the youngest turtle ever did was goof off. Hence, the reason Slash had deemed him useless.

Even now, as Slash observed the brothers from a distance, the youngest one was playing around, gyrating about, and clearly not taking their conversation seriously.

Although Raphael was the most irritable turtle by far and away, Michelangelo's current squirrely behavior appeared to be frustrating his oldest brother the most. That's probably because the oldest brother was a total control freak.

The first born sibling of the four wore a blue mask and his name was Leonardo.

Leonardo was the designated 'leader' of the team and he would relentlessly tell his three younger brothers what to do, even when they weren't on a mission. That was how Leonardo operated. He just liked to hear the sound of his own voice. Unlike the youngest brother, Leonardo took everything way too seriously and it seemed like he was all work and no play. Always training and trying to be the best of the best, no matter what. The supposedly 'fearless leader' in blue was bossy, overbearing, and a real pain in the shell. He knew everything and he never hesitated to talk down to the rest of them.

The oldest one was Slash's least favorite turtle. No question about that.

Slash's ongoing surveillance of the brothers had revealed that Leonardo didn't like to go off alone much at night. The only time that Slash had actually seen Leonardo out on his own over the past two weeks was when he had pursued some ninja girl with a strange, multicolored hairstyle. Slash assumed that the reason Leonardo didn't like to go out at night without his brothers in tow was because he knew that his father would frown upon such reckless behavior. Leonardo definitely had a bit of a daddy complex, always striving to please his dear old father and look perfect in his eyes. Always going out of his way to make himself look good, while at the same time, trying to make his brothers look inferior.

Again, Leonardo was unquestionably Slash's least favorite of the siblings.

Then, there was the smartest one. The one in purple known as Donatello.

Donatello had always been the weakest of the four brothers, far more interested in his studies and experiments than honing his Ninjutsu skills. Slash had noticed that the smartest one tended to keep to himself, hiding away in what the family had dubbed his 'lab' most of the day. Whether that reclusiveness was intentional or not, Slash was not sure. Now that he had stopped to really think about it, Slash realized that the smartest brother was the one he knew the least about. Maybe that was why something about that turtle had always fascinated him.

Donatello appeared to be a pacifist by nature, but yet, he lived and fought amongst a family of skilled warriors. His weapon was nothing more than a long stick, but the way that he wielded it was truly something to behold. He was somewhat scrawny and gangly compared to his brothers, but at times, his movements could be so graceful and fluid, they almost seemed rehearsed. He was shy and quiet, but he could be rather high strung and whiny at times.

Like Leonardo, the purple-clad turtle was a bit of a know-it-all, but not nearly as confident. He seemed to be very passionate about everything and he was always attempting to come up with strange and inventive ways to keep the family safe. Other than the occasional unexpected explosion, the brother in purple caused the least amount of trouble and it oftentimes seemed like he was almost invisible to the rest of them. The only time they seemed to notice Donatello was when they needed something or he had done something wrong.

But _Slash_ had noticed him . . .

The first five days of Slash's stakeout, Donatello had not made an appearance. That was probably because Slash had done a real number on the smartest turtle the night of his mutation. He had made Donatello pay dearly for being the weakest of the lot, that much was for sure. Still, a part of Slash felt bad for what had happened. Bad because he hadn't gotten a chance to finish what he had started with Donatello. He had kept the splindly turtle alive as part of a contingency plan.

Slash had been plotting to form a team with Raphael, but in the event that the turtle in red didn't go along with his idea, the larger mutant had intended to use the smartest brother as either collateral or bait. That was why Slash had beaten Donatello into unconsciousness and left him up on the rooftop for later. That was why he hadn't killed the far weaker turtle when he easily could have. Slash's plan had been to finish off Raphael's other two brothers, and then, if need be, he would go back for Donatello. If Raphael refused his generous offer, Slash was going to use the smartest one to lure the red-masked ninja right where he wanted him.

But Raphael had gone and foiled the whole thing . . .

Slash stared down at Donatello, who was just standing there listening to his three brothers bickering yet again. It was as if they didn't even see that the tallest turtle was there. That was probably the very reason it had been so simple for Slash to snatch Donatello away that fateful night.

A wicked twinkle began to gleam in Slash's glowing, green eyes as he continued to leer at the turtle in purple.

Of all the brothers, Donatello spent the most time alone on the surface. Slash's stakeout had revealed that the smartest one liked to venture topside to scavenge for miscellaneous items at a nearby junkyard. Donatello would also occasionally follow that redheaded girl that was always hanging around 'the lair.' Then, there were times when the purple-clad turtle would just sit up on the rooftops and stare off into space, as though he was lost in his own head.

Slash had frequently found himself wondering what the smartest one was thinking about. Donatello had always been somewhat of a mystery. There was something about that mystery that Slash wanted to solve. There was something about that specific brother that Slash wanted to crack.

The outcast turtle watched on like a ravenous vulture as the four brothers breached their little circular formation and started to once again sprint and leap from rooftop to rooftop.

This was when Slash's lingering injuries hindered him the most. He wasn't as spry as the prey that he was stalking, which made for quite a challenge. Once again, he was struggling to keep up with the brothers as they effortlessly soared over the city, bounding across buildings with far more nimbleness than Slash was capable of, even if he was at one hundred percent. His mutation had left him much less limber and considerably bulkier than them. On the other hand, that bulk that he had gained had worked to his advantage during their first battle. He had readily handed them a serious pummeling, clobbering all four of them into the ground with minimal effort. If not for Raphael hitting that pressure point in his arm to take him down –

Slash let a low growl rattle around in the back of his throat as he continued to rather inelegantly hop across the rooftops. He was doing his best to keep the brothers within his visual range, while at the same time, making sure he stayed far enough behind to prevent them from hearing his rather heavy-footed landings.

Slash may have picked up a good deal of Ninjutsu moves from watching the brothers for so long, but that didn't mean he was a martial arts master by any means. But what he may have lacked in ninja skills, he more than made up for in brute strength.

Soon, the brothers would be no match for him . . .

Finally, after what felt like hours to Slash, but was probably only all of five minutes, the brothers must have reached their desired destination. They came to a collective halt on the roof of an abandoned factory.

Slash stopped several buildings short of where the siblings were now congregated and concealed himself behind a faded billboard sign, taking this much-needed opportunity to catch his breath. Living off leaves his entire life had definitely left him with somewhat limited endurance, but all of the protein he had recently added to his diet was already making a huge difference. Even now, he could feel the added energy coursing through his veins.

Focusing his attention back on the brothers, Slash had to smother a laugh over what he saw. Leonardo was once again going on and on about something that Raphael appeared to be none too pleased with. Even from Slash's current vantage point, he could see that the hotheaded turtle was rolling his eyes and getting dangerously close to blowing a gasket.

Just looking at Raphael made Slash's hands ball up tightly. The enormous mutant had to fight off the urge to slam his fists into the sign that he was hiding behind, knowing that that kind of racket would no doubt alert the four brothers to his location. In order to keep his presence undetected, Slash had to settle for glaring at Raphael instead of resorting to the act of violence that he would much rather be doing.

At least for now . . .

The newly transformed mutant was getting stronger and stronger with each passing day. And with each passing day, he was getting closer and closer to making his move.

Raphael was going to pay for what had happened. He was going to pay dearly for his betrayal and Slash knew that the best way to truly hurt Raphael was through his brothers.

Well . . . one brother in particular.

Slash didn't want the youngest one. He was sure that he couldn't stand Michelangelo for more than an hour or two. Being alone in the same room as that obnoxious little twerp for any extended period of time would be sheer torture.

Slash didn't want the oldest one, either. Not just because he loathed him, but also, because taking that one down would be almost like doing Raphael a favor, rather than making him suffer the way he deserved to.

And Slash _so_ wanted to make Raphael suffer in the worst way.

That left the smartest one.

Yes, Slash had plans in store for that one. He was going to break him.

The mere thought made a malevolent smirk spread across Slash's face.

Once he was feeling just a bit stronger, he could put his plan into motion. Then, when Donatello went off somewhere without his brothers, that would be Slash's chance to strike.

It was only a matter of time before he would have his revenge.

His sweet, sweet revenge . . .

* * *

 _ **To be continued . . .**_

 _ **Author's Note: Oh, it's been so long since I posted a cliffhanger ending. It feels good to get back into the swing of things. I sure hope you enjoyed the first chapter of 'Slash's Revenge.'**_

 _ **If you want me to keep going with this story, please take a moment to**_ _ **favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on this chapter to let me**_ _ **know that you are interested in seeing more. I would really, really appreciate the feedback. Plus, I'm super excited to hear from all of you again. I've missed everyone very much.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading! ;) CJ**_

 _ ****Special note: This story is dedicated to my two favorite ninja warriors (my son and my daughter). I love you two more than life itself. Happy birthday, B!**_


	2. Chapter 2 - Red-hot

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: I've returned with a new chapter of 'Slash's Revenge.'_**

 ** _I want to start off by thanking everyone for the amazing, positive feedback on the first chapter of this story. Wow! I was not expecting that at all. To be honest, I was really worried that people were growing tired of me picking on poor Donnie. I'm glad I was wrong. Thank you all for the many favorites, likes, follows, reblogs, and wonderful comments/reviews. I appreciate it very, very much. I'm super glad the story was so well-received._**

 ** _Next, I want to say a special thank you to my absolutely amazing friend, Joanne N. Grey. She's my new creative consultant/beta reader for 'Slash's Revenge' and she's also one of the most awesome people I've ever 'met.' I love her dearly!_**

 _ **I could probably keep expressing my gratitude to all of you for another fifty pages or more, but I'm guessing you'd much prefer me going right into the second chapter instead. XD**_

 _ **I hope you like it. Thanks for reading. ;)**_

 _ **CJ**_

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – Red-hot**

If Raphael sunk any deeper into the recesses of the tattered, old beanbag chair that he was presently sulking in, he may as well have been sitting directly on the tile floor beneath him. He shifted and wriggled his weight around, in hopes of finding a more relaxing position, but alas, comfort was simply not meant to be.

 _Figures…_

There had seemed to be a black cloud hovering over him from the moment he had crawled out of bed that morning. Nothing was going right, and now, he wasn't even able to properly veg out in his favorite chair. It was just the whipped cream and sprinkles on top of his already rotten day.

Raphael let out an irritated grunt which everyone within hearing range immediately blew off. Not because they didn't care, but because Raph letting out an irritated grunt was nothing out of the ordinary. It was par for the course, actually. In fact, the temperamental turtle would be much more likely to garner his family's attention if he _didn't_ make an irritable noise every few minutes or so.

As if to illustrate that point, Raph snorted in disgust.

 _This blows…_

Burying his face deeper into the pages of the comic book he had been attempting to read for the past fifteen minutes, Raphael did his best to ignore the commotion his three annoying brothers were causing about the lair. Their obnoxiously loud activities while he was trying to concentrate were grating on his very last nerve, as usual. But due to Raphael's exceptionally lousy day, his siblings were even more of a pain in the shell than normal. Thus, making his typical foul mood that much fouler.

He was beginning to understand why his father had gone out for a walk about an hour ago and not come back yet. Raph found himself wishing that he would have gone with. Master Splinter wasn't much of a talker while out on his 'walks,' so the turtle in red would have gotten some much-needed peace and quiet.

With fiery, green eyes, Raphael peered over the top of his comic book at the brother who was currently making the most noise out of the three.

As to be expected, Raph's youngest brother, Michelangelo, was planted in front of the blaring television set, sitting far too close to the monitor for his eyes' own good. He was slouched over with his legs folded out to the side. The bottoms of his oversized feet were pressed together and his elbows were resting on his knee pads. His face donned a dopey grin and his vacant gaze was glued to the TV screen, intently watching his new favorite show, 'Super Robo Mecha Force Five!' Mikey had discovered the show when he had scored a pile of old VHS tapes in a garbage dumpster. The fact that he had found the tapes in the trash should have been a warning, but despite how bad the show was, the youngest turtle had somehow gotten all three of his brothers hooked on the super cheesy anime cartoon. Well, for a little while, until they ran out of new episodes to watch.

The problem was, Michelangelo had a woefully short attention span and he had no qualms with viewing the same thing over and over and _over_ again. Mikey's brain was kind of like a paper cup with a bunch of holes poked in it. Stuff went in, but it just leaked right back out. Raph was pretty sure that his baby brother's brain hadn't functioned properly from the day he had hatched.

Mikey's fondness for watching the same mindless shows repeatedly could drive Raph straight up a wall. He was fairly certain that his youngest brother's latest fixation with the cartoon he affectionately referred to as 'SRMFF' was even worse than their oldest brother's obsession with that stupid 'Space Heroes' show. For the longest time, Leonardo had watched that show religiously, to the point that he could quote most episodes verbatim. He had been so addicted to that crummy sci-fi show, he had actually tried to model himself after the show's main character, which wasn't a good thing. Much to Raph's frustration, even when they were up against an enemy, Leo liked to sometimes spout off some corny quote that was undoubtedly inspired by that dumb show.

There had been some real doozies…

" _All right, mighty mutants! Let's do this!"_

" _Halt, villain!"_

" _That's right! We're the turtles of justice!"_

" _Gentlemen, I have a bold and daring plan. There's no time for hesitation. My orders must be carried out without question."_

" _All right, guys. Let's put old Mother Hubbard back in her cupboard."_

No question about it. Leo was a hopeless dork; the exact opposite of cool. It was embarrassing.

Really, _really_ embarrassing…

Raph rolled his eyes skyward, although he was not sure if he had done so because of Leo's lameness, Mikey's dim-witted antics, or the putrid cartoon blaring in the background. Maybe it was just a combination of everything.

Letting out another irritated grunt, the hotheaded turtle turned his focus back onto his baby brother.

The particular episode of 'Super Robo Mecha Force Five!' that Mikey was presently watching was by far and away one of the worst in the series, and that was saying a lot. Why Mikey had elected to watch this specific episode again was beyond Raphael's comprehension. The episode had been painful enough to watch the first time. It was one of the handful of episodes centered around the princess character on the show, which didn't really seem like a plotline that was up Mikey's alley. Raph had never really pegged his youngest brother as being the type to appreciate a chick episode. Mikey had always struck Raph as more of a dudes-with-guns, pro-violence type of guy.

On the other hand, this kind of teasing opportunity didn't just fall into one's lap every day. It definitely gave Raph something to harass Mikey about. And he _loved_ to harass Mikey.

 _Maybe things are starting to look up..._

"So, Mikey… Leo tells me that after you're done watching this, you're planning on playing that 'Pretty Pretty Princess' board game you like so much." The quip was immediately followed by a trademark smirk, revealing that Raphael was quite proud of himself.

Then, Leo went and ruined the moment.

"Sounds to me like Raph is looking for someone to play his favorite game with, Mikey." As Leonardo made his extraordinarily snarky comment, he didn't even bother to look up from behind the martial arts magazine he had his beak stuck in.

Raphael glared at the cover of the magazine, trying to burn holes right through it with his eyes so his pompous older brother would see the murderous scowl meant for him.

Clearly not interested in getting into it with his most quarrelsome sibling, Leo didn't acknowledge Raph any further, pretending to be engrossed in whatever article he had stopped on. In all actuality, it was just another one of those highly inaccurate editorials on the 'mysterious' disappearance of martial arts superstar, Chris Bradford.

The sound of verbal shots being fired managed to tear Mikey's concentration away from the hypnotic glare of the television set. Wrapping one arm around his middle, the youngest turtle turned and extended his other arm towards Raphael, tauntingly pointing a forefinger in his already cranky brother's direction. "Ha! Haaaaa! Good one, Leo!"

Needless to say, this only served to further tick off a certain red-masked turtle.

"How about we play a little game of 'Does Mikey Bend That Way' instead?" For added emphasis, Raph emitted a low growl while cracking his neck several times in an obvious intimidation tactic. This instantly made the youngest sibling snivel and shrink in fear.

It wasn't until Leonardo heard his baby brother whimper that the oldest turtle finally showed an interest in the conversation. Expression becoming smug, Leo casually flung his magazine onto the couch that encircled the recessed area in the heart of the lair. Half a second later, his calm yet darkly foreboding sapphire gaze was zeroed in on his hotheaded brother. A silent warning of sorts.

"Don't mind Raph, Mikey. He's still pouting about me waxing his shell in practice this morning."

Now that Raphael had Leo's full attention, he took the opportunity to cast another dirty look in his older brother's direction. The red-clad turtle then set his mouth into a sneer, jutting his bottom lip out into almost a point, the way he always did when he was brooding about something.

The only thing that Hamato Raphael hated more than losing, was losing to the 'almighty' Leonardo. But that's exactly what had happened.

The bitter taste of defeat was still lingering in his mouth.

 _Ugh! Could this day possibly get any worse?_

Just thinking about his miserable luck made Raph shudder.

First, he had overslept and arrived several minutes late for their daily morning practice session. That had been the second time that week; a breach of etiquette punishable by fifty back flips after practice. Then, Master Splinter had paired him against Leonardo in a sparring match to which Raphael had gotten his shell handed to him by his older brother not once, but twice.

 _Twice_!

And in front of his little brothers no less!

What was even worse, was that after his first loss to his older brother, Raph had resentfully gone on and on about how Leo had only won on account of a cheap shot. So, Master Splinter, being the fair and just parent that he was, had allowed Raphael another round to prove himself. Alas, the only thing the temperamental turtle had managed to prove was that he would have been much better off keeping his big mouth shut.

Leonardo had proceeded to take Raph down in five moves.

 _Five freakin' moves_!

Raphael wasn't even sure what mortified him the most. Losing to Leo ( _twice_ ), losing in five moves, the enthusiastic high threes that had followed both of his losses, the arrogant looks on _all_ their faces when his tremendous ego got taken down a notch or six, or having his whole family watch on with unconcealed amusement as he completed his mandated series of back flips.

From there, Raph's mood had gone from bad to worse, and now, Leo's continued bragging over his back-to-back victories was pushing the already grumpy turtle's mood into the critically hazardous category.

Raphael was unsettlingly close to going nuclear on their shells.

It was at this point that the end credits of Mikey's show started to flash across the screen. Forgetting all about everything else that was going on around him, the youngest turtle eagerly scurried over to their vintage, top-loading VCR and ejected the VHS tape.

The old phrase 'Be Kind, Rewind' meant absolutely nothing to Michelangelo, much to the annoyance of his three older brothers. Whenever they actually wanted to watch something from their vast collection of VHS gems, such as 'Omega Force 3: The Revenge of Ultor Syn' or 'The Stuffed 2: Beast Within My Belly,' they almost always had to sit around and wait for the tape to rewind back to the beginning. And all because their baby brother was too lazy (or stupid, according to Raph) to do it.

As Mikey started to rummage through the dingy, white crate that housed their secondhand – or quite possibly third or fourth hand – assortment of VHS tapes, Raph felt his chest tighten with grief.

The lattice crate looked uncannily similar to the crate that Spike had been innocently standing on when Raph's second youngest brother, Donatello, had nearly killed the helpless pet turtle. Not to mention everyone else in the vicinity.

Another one of Donnie's experiments had gone horribly awry that fateful day and the so-called 'genius' of the family had just about blown up the lair yet again.

At the time of the incident, Raph had been angrily walking away from his two other brothers when, from inside of Donnie's laboratory, there had come a deluge of sparks and debris that had flown every which way. Poor Spike had nearly been hit in the crossfire of Donnie's latest failure. Luckily, Raph had lightning fast reflexes. He had grabbed onto Spike just before the crate the small turtle had been perched on was blown to bits.

Raphael remembered the incident all too well…

" _Oh, hey there, little guy. Y – You okay, Spike? Y – You're all good. Old Raph won't let anything happen to ya."_

" _Wow! I did not see that one coming… heh. Everyone okay?"_

" _Are you crazy? No! We're not okay!"_

" _What happened here?"_

" _I'll tell you what happened, Master Splinter! Donnie almost blew us up… AGAIN! And worse! He almost blew up Spike!"_

" _Raph, dude. I'm really sorry. I – "_

" _Sorry doesn't cut it this time! Until the mad scientist gets his act together, I'm holding this for safekeeping."_

" _No, R – Raph. Be reasonable. Man, that's my last canister of mutagen."_

Despite Donatello's earnest pleas, the red-banded turtle had waltzed off with the nearly full mutagen canister in his hands.

For some reason, Raph's idea of safekeeping the highly unstable substance that he had confiscated from his brainiac brother had been to store the mutagen container in his bedroom.

His _bedroom_ of all places!

The very same room where Raph had carelessly left his beloved pet turtle, unsupervised. It was a decision that Raphael would regret for the rest of his life. That one rash decision had transformed Spike into a ferocious monster.

A monster that had nearly killed all four of the brothers…

Intentionally keeping his face void of emotion, Raph scrunched his intense, emerald eyes shut to keep anyone from seeing even a trace of his inner torment.

It had been three weeks since Spike's mutation and not a day had gone by that Raph hadn't thought about his former pet turtle.

The lair felt different now. It seemed so much emptier than before.

A part of Raph kept thinking – wishing – that Spike's mutation had just been a terrible nightmare. That he would simply wake up and see Spike sitting there again, staring up at him with those big, unprejudiced eyes of his. That things would just go back to the way they were.

But with each passing day, what little bit of hope remained in Raph's broken heart faded more and more. The bleak reality that Spike wasn't coming back was beginning to settle in his stomach like the heaviest of stones. And with each passing day, Raph's grief seemed to be manifesting itself into uncontainable rage. The more he thought about Spike, the more his rage grew, like a cancer, silently poisoning him.

At first, Raph had used the words of comfort his father had shared with him after he had lost Spike as a means of attempting to pacify his frayed nerves…

" _Raphael… Do you know what I do when I miss my loved ones from the past?"_

" _No."_

" _I focus on the friends I am surrounded by in the present."_

" _Thanks, Master Splinter."_

Unfortunately, after just a few days, those words could no longer bring Raphael comfort. A flame of resentment towards his brothers began to smolder inside of him. He couldn't explain it, nor could he understand it. He didn't know where the resentment was coming from. All he knew was that the more he missed Spike, the more hostility he felt towards his three brothers.

When Raph realized that his father's words of comfort were no longer serving a purpose, he had instead tried to draw upon the calming power of the mantra Master Splinter had once taught him to control his temper…

" _Like a river over stone…"_

Again, the mantra had only worked for so long to curb the hotheaded turtle's anger, or at least keep it at a somewhat manageable level. But eventually, repeating the words 'like a river over stone' inside his head just made him visualize himself throwing rocks at his brothers and/or drowning them in the lair's 'moat' or a nearby sewer pool.

If Raph had to wager a guess for his recent upsurge in anger, he would assume he was going through one of those five stages of grief… or however many stages there were. He couldn't remember. He could only remember that anger was one of those stages, and he was _all_ over that one.

But it wasn't just anger Raphael was going through. It was something more. Something the red-masked turtle had never had to cope with before.

Raph missed Spike more than he could have ever imagined possible. So much so, that the temperamental turtle didn't have a clue how to deal with the flood of emotions rushing through him. After all, he wasn't exactly a sentimental turtle by nature.

What he did know was that he absolutely hated feeling this way.

Raph would have given anything to go back and change what had happened that awful day.

He would have given _anything_ to get his best friend back.

Raph's relationship with Spike had always been much different than his relationship with his three brothers. He and his pet had shared a special connection right from the start. The tiny, box turtle was the one living being that Raphael had actually felt comfortable talking to whenever he needed to get something off his chest.

It wasn't that Raph didn't trust or care deeply for his brothers. It was just that he was supposed to be the brawny, bad-mannered, thick-skinned, hard-hearted warrior of the team. There was no way in shell he was about to start sharing his feelings with his brothers. He had a tough guy persona to uphold.

And so, Spike had become Raphael's sounding board, which was perfectly fine with the hotheaded turtle. He never had to worry about his pet making fun of him or accusing him of going soft. Plus, Spike was a much better listener than any of his brothers…

" _Who does Leo think he is? So what if I got a temper? I'm still the best fighter we've got. In fact, if anything, my anger makes me a better fighter! You understand me, don't you, Spike? Chew on your leaf if you understand me… Yeah, I thought so."_

Spike had always understood…

But now, he was gone; transformed into a ruthless, hideous beast whose inexorable appetite for destruction and violence far surpassed even Raph's own passion for demolition and carnage. It was as though the only characteristics that 'Slash' had taken from Raphael were his fighting abilities and his uncontrollable rage.

It didn't make sense. Why had 'Slash' turned into such a vengeful and hateful creature when Raphael had always handled him with the greatest of care?

Or had he?

Raphael thought back to the last thing that he had said to Spike just before his mutation…

" _The others are just holding me back. We should be out there fighting crime. Tracking mutagen. But all they wanna do is play stupid games. You get it, don't you, Spike? Sometimes I wish I was on my own, doing things my way. I'm tired of this team."_

Was it possible that Spike had transformed into a savage killing machine because of the bitter things that Raph had said about his brothers?

Could it be that his constant ranting was responsible for the monster that Spike had become?

As if to answer his own question, Raph's mind flashed back to a time not long after Spike's transformation, when 'Slash' had made several scathing comments about his brothers…

" _I can't believe this is happening. This is amazing. Wait! What am I gonna tell the others?"_

" _Tell 'em you got a new partner. One who knows the true meaning of being a warrior."_

" _A new partner?"_

" _You and me. No joking around. No goofing off like your brothers. We'll be the ultimate ninja team."_

" _Well, that would be awesome."_

" _We'll crush our opponents. We'll fight evil together, nonstop."_

" _That's what I'm talking about! You totally get it! You always did!"_

Had Raphael actually encouraged 'Slash' to eliminate his three siblings?

The thought alone sickened Raph to the point that he could have sworn his stomach acids were burning a gaping hole in the lining of his gut. Thankfully, the guilt searing his insides was short-lived, because his baby brother soon distracted him from feeling sorry for himself.

"Uh, hellohhh! Earth to Raph! Come in, please!" Came Mikey's exceedingly aggravating voice, snapping the temperamental turtle straight out of his funk and shifting him right back into angry mode. It never ceased to amaze Raph just how quickly his youngest sibling could cause his mood to change. It was as if Mikey had some sort of special remote control device hidden away in his belt or something.

When Raph opened his eyes, he immediately discovered that Mikey was hovering over him in what was an obvious intrusion of his personal space. To say that Mikey's close proximity was making the turtle in red extremely uncomfortable would have been putting it mildly. Mikey was so close, Raph could have easily counted the freckles on his baby brother's round cheeks. Of course, that also meant that Mikey was so close, Raph could have just as easily _slapped_ the freckles off his baby brother's round cheeks, but the volatile turtle somehow refrained from doing so. Mostly, because he didn't have the patience to listen to the little goob whine right now.

"What?" Even after hearing the unmistakable bark in Raph's tone, Mikey still remained awkwardly near, so the older turtle temporarily released his hold on his comic book so he could splay his hand over his orange-masked brother's face and shove him backwards several inches.

Undaunted by the rather violent gesture, Mikey just plopped down onto the couch, kitty-corner from where Raph was still submersed in the beanbag chair. Without missing a beat, the youngest brother pulled his legs up onto the couch cushions and proceeded to cross his ankles in front of him. He then leaned forward and hovered his head over Raph's shoulder, continuing to invade his big brother's personal space. Mikey's knee was edging dangerously close to the back of Raphael's neck. One false move and the happy-go-lucky turtle would surely be pounded into dust, but he seemed to be oblivious to the precarious position he was in.

"Dude! You were totally zoned out just now! I asked you a question and you acted like you'd been zombified or something, bro!" The declaration was much louder than seemed necessary, considering Mikey's mouth was right next to Raphael's ear slit. As the youngest turtle waited for his brother to respond, his bright, blue eyes widened with a freshly brewed blend of curiosity and concern that Raphael couldn't actually see.

The red-clad turtle closed his eyes once again, but only for a moment this time. Just long enough to steel himself. He was debating on how to reply to Mikey. Telling his little brother the truth about why he had just tuned him out was most definitely out of the question. Mikey would do that "awww" thing that he always did when someone told him they were upset about something. Or, worse yet, he would try to hug him.

If Mikey pulled any of that touchy-feely junk right now, Raph was pretty sure he'd stab him in the jugular.

"Did it ever occur to you that I was ignoring you?" The lie came all too easily, as if it was second nature to Raph. He then lifted up the comic book that he had been so rudely sidetracked from and thumbed through the pages until he reached the one he had left off on.

It was obvious that Raphael was no longer interested in conversing with his brothers, but apparently, not obvious enough for the turtle in orange

"But why? What did I do?" Mikey whined in a higher pitched voice than usual while he innocently batted his eyes and lowered his face into what could only be described as the picture-perfect frown. Again, Raph couldn't actually see the expression on his younger brother's face, but he could envision it in his head. Whenever Mikey employed his higher pitched whiney voice (as opposed to his regular pitched whiney voice), there was always a particular expression that accompanied it. Raphael had seen that look thousands of times. It was another classic case of Mikey using mind manipulation. He was constantly painting on that pathetic frowny face to weasel out of trouble or try to make everyone feel sorry for him.

 _Not gonna work this time, little brother…_

Raph was about to unleash another snide remark at Mikey's expense, when Leo reentered the conversation, unknowingly sparing the youngest turtle from getting his feelings hurt.

"You didn't _do_ anything, Mikey. Raph's just in a bad mood."

The red-banded turtle had every intention of simply giving his big brother the cold shoulder treatment, but then, Leo just had to go and open his yap again.

"Well, worse than his typical bad mood, that is. Talk about a sore loser."

Just one look at the condescending smirk now stretched across his older brother's face caused the thin tether that kept Raph's self-control restrained to snap.

Enough was enough.

Raphael was a ticking time bomb about to go off.

"What's your problem, Fearless?" There was so much fury in Raph's voice, it made Mikey cower away from him and attempt to disappear behind one of the small throw pillows he had snatched up from the couch. The hotheaded turtle's sudden flare-up had also managed to reap Leonardo's undivided attention, yet again, but not in a good way.

The oldest brother furrowed his forehead and narrowed his eyes into nothing more than white slits. It was a sure sign that the leader in blue was not at all pleased with his unruly brother's behavior.

No doubt about it.

Things were about to get ugly…

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: Uh-oh… no good will come of this.**_

 _ **Okay, to all my fellow Donatello fans out there, I missed him in this chapter, too, but he'll finally get a chance to shine in the next installment. Plus, chapter 3 features one of the most significant moments in the whole story. It's time to bring on the angst!**_

 _ **Just so everyone knows up front, I will not be posting updates for this story every week like I did with 'Lost in the Fight'. Unlike 'LITF,' which was finished before I even started posting it, 'Slash's Revenge' is a work in progress, so I will need time to write new chapters in between updates. I will do my best to post at least one update a month, so long as writer's block stays out of my path. *fingers crossed* If all goes as planned, I will upload new chapters the first full week of the month.**_

 _ **Please take a moment to**_ _ **favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on this story if you are enjoying it and want to see more. I always love hearing from my readers and friends.**_

 _ **Thank you so much for reading!**_


	3. Chapter 3 - Raph and Destroy

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: Chapter 3 of 'Slash's Revenge' is ready and it's a dramatic one. What happens here is extremely significant._**

 ** _Thank you so much to all my readers, followers, and friends. I appreciate each and every one of you more than I can possibly say. I'm so happy you're enjoying my writing and I'm so grateful for all the support everybody has given me. You're all awesome!_ 8}**

 ** _Once again, thank you to my lovely friend, Joanne N. Grey, for her fabulous work as my creative consultant/beta reader for 'Slash's Revenge.' You rock, girl._**

 _ **Well, I think I've made you all wait long enough for this update. Let's delve right in, shall we?**_

 _**Thanks for reading.**_ **;)**

 _ **CJ**_

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Raph and Destroy**

"What's _my_ problem? Shouldn't I be asking _you_ that question? You've been sulking around the lair all day long! You just about bit Mikey's head off at lunch because he put the wrong kind of cheese on your sandwich! Then, you almost punched Donnie in the face because he beat you at pinball! What is _with_ you today? Is this still about what happened in practice?"

Hearing his older brother remind him about practice for the umpteenth time that day was enough to make Raphael want to scream. He tossed his comic book to the floor and pushed himself up to his feet in one fluid motion.

Leonardo also rose to his feet, but in a much calmer fashion than his hotheaded brother had. Once upright, the leader in blue stood stock-still, just waiting for Raph to make his next move. Leo knew what a loose cannon his brother could be when he got all wound up like this and the eldest turtle had no intention of getting caught with his guard down.

"No! It's not about practice! Man! I'm so sick and tired of hearing about what happened at practice this morning! So you beat me!? Who cares? Just drop it already! Not everything is about you, _Leo_!" Raph made sure to put extra venom on his brother's nickname. He then stomped towards the 'almighty' Leonardo and wasted no time getting right up in his face.

This act of aggression was enough to finally make Leo snap. He had been more than patient with Raph's horrible attitude throughout the day, giving his immediate younger brother what he felt was plenty of space. Heck, the turtle in blue had managed to somehow let the lunch and pinball incidents slide, but even levelheaded Leonardo could only take so much.

"Then, what _is_ it about? Because I've had it up to here with you acting like a total jerk!" For just a moment, Leonardo lost his grip on the poise he always strove so hard to maintain, but only because his temperamental brother had a real knack for pushing his buttons…

And vice-versa…

"That's it!" Raph barked out and he curled his hands into tightly clenched fists, readying to realign Leonardo's teeth, free of charge.

It was at that precise moment, the second youngest brother, Donatello, came running out of his lab, inadvertently saving the eldest turtle's perfect smile.

"Guys! Guys! You're not gonna believe this! I think I may have just found the breakthrough I need to reverse the mutation process!"

Due to his uncontainable excitement, Donatello's reddish-brown eyes were about twice their natural size. He was grinning from ear slit to ear slit as he made his way down the steps that led to his laboratory. He then rushed over to his brothers in the pit of the lair. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Donnie just stood there with his hands held out in front of him, the way that he always did when he had some kind of 'mind-blowing' announcement to make. Usually, those 'mind-blowing' announcements were only 'mind-blowing' to Donnie, but the genius turtle still liked to play them up as though they were going to be the most important thing ever said.

Donnie was just about to explain what had gotten him so incredibly hyped up, when he noticed that he had clearly interrupted something between his two oldest brothers. Always the most observant of his siblings – with Leo being the one possible exception – Donatello's scrutinizing eyes quickly began examining the scene before him. He noted that Leo and Raph were both flush in the face and their breathing appeared to be considerably heavier than normal. He could also see the tension in their clamped jaws and the tiny beads of sweat broken out along their brows. Then, there was the fact that they were standing only a couple of inches apart, glaring daggers at one another. Based on the telltale visual evidence he had gathered, the turtle in purple felt ninety-nine-point-nine percent certain that his brothers had been arguing.

 _Again_ …

"Uh, what did I miss? Where's Sensei?" Donnie bounced his eyes from brother to brother to brother, eventually landing his gaze on Mikey, who seemed to be the only one thinking clearly. Now _that_ was a frightening thought.

Surprisingly, it was Raph who answered the question.

"You didn't miss anything." Taking a few giant steps backwards, the hotheaded turtle folded his arms across his plastron and tried to get his breathing back to normal. His chest was still heaving with anger, but not like it had been seconds before.

Leonardo also took a few steps back and turned towards Donnie, if only just to look away from his red-masked brother.

"Sensei went out for a walk. I'm sure he'll be back soon. So, what's up, Donnie?" Though Leonardo had attempted to remove the aggravation from his voice, he hadn't done a very good job of it.

If Donatello hadn't been so stoked to share his big news with everyone, he might have questioned his brothers further about what was really going on. As it was, he just couldn't bring himself to think about anything other than his findings. Besides, it wasn't like Raph and Leo had never tried to knock each other's blocks off before. The two of them didn't exactly see eye to eye.

"Okay, okay… I was reading up on chromosomal instability and nucleotide base-pairs, when I happened across a website about Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, which had a section on antimutagens and – " Before Donnie could even get to the good part, he was brusquely cut off.

"How many times do we have to tell you? _English_ , Brainiac!" There was far more irritation pouring off Raphael than Donnie had expected, and the smartest turtle had come to expect a _lot_ of irritation from his temperamental brother. It didn't take a genius to recognize that Raph was not a happy camper.

Now, it was Donatello's turn to take a few steps backwards.

"Never mind him, Donnie. Go on." Flashing a glare over his shoulder at the turtle in red, Leonardo then focused his attention back on his brother in purple.

"Well, as you probably already know, when a living being is exposed to mutagen, there's a chemical reaction that damages or alters the DNA, sometimes causing transcription and replication errors in the – "

"Donnie! Seriously! No one understands that crap! Just get to the point!" In a fit of disgust, Raph tossed his arms up into the air. He was in no mood to listen to his know-it-all brother go on and on about this and that in huge words that none of them had a prayer at translating. Sometimes, Raph swore that Donnie sat in his lab all day and night, reading science books and encyclopedias just to find things to say to make everyone else look stupid.

At least when Raph wanted to insult someone's intelligence, he had the decency to do it in terms that they could understand.

Unwilling to idly watch Raphael take his frustrations out on Donnie, Leonardo stepped in between the space separating his two middle brothers.

"I'm gonna ask you one more time! What the heck is your problem, Raph?"

" _You_ are my problem!" As Raphael shouted his response, he pointed a stubby forefinger at his older brother, just in case someone in the room (i.e. Mikey) didn't know who he had been referring to when he had said the word 'you.'

"Theoretically, your problem may lie within your limbic system, Raph. You need to start engaging the neo-cortex part of your brain more often in order to keep the – " Donnie stopped midsentence when he heard the low growl rumble in back of Raph's throat, demonstrating his obvious disapproval of the brainy turtle's diagnosis.

Nervously rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, Donatello's gaze made its way down to his feet. "Okay, maybe not."

"Just ignore him, Donnie. What did you find out?" Leonardo encouraged his intellectual brother, while in the same breath, discouraging his temperamental one. The oldest turtle was all about multitasking.

"So, as I was saying, normal cellular processes involve – " once again, Donatello was cut off before he could finish what he was trying to say.

"Just dumben it down to Mikey level already, would ya?" The bitter comment earned Raphael yet another glare from his older brother, but the red-clad turtle couldn't have cared less.

After a few seconds, Mikey caught onto the insult to his intelligence and he let out a long-drawn-out, "Heyyyyyyy!"

Rolling his eyes towards the ceiling, Donatello sighed in exasperation. He then proceeded to speak in a slow, highly mocking tone, dragging his every word out as though he was talking to the world's biggest moron.

"I went on the internet and found information to help me turn mutants back to normal."

"Dude, why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Mikey's face wrinkled up with confusion while he scratched the top of his bald head.

In the meantime, every muscle in Donatello's body simultaneously tensed up. He balled his hands into fists at his sides and drew his lips into a sneer, barring his gapped teeth.

Needless to say, Mikey had struck a nerve.

Unlike Raph, Donatello wasn't angry _all_ the time, but when the brainy turtle did get ticked off, look out. He could be way scarier than the turtle in red.

"That's what I was _TRYING TO DO, MIKEY_!" Donnie hollered, but his sudden glint of fury dissipated as quickly as it had arisen. He then continued to speak as though he hadn't even raised his voice only a split-second ago, which was more than a little disturbing. "Anyway, I've got the experiment all set up in my lab. This time, I'm sure it's going to work and I wanted you guys to be there to see it!"

Beside himself with anticipation, Donnie lifted his fists up and held them just underneath his chin as a huge grin spread across his face. He then spun around and headed towards his lab, assuming that his brothers would follow. They did; some more reluctant than others.

Once inside the laboratory, the brothers all walked over to the worktable next to Donnie's desk where the purple-masked turtle had everything ready for his forthcoming experiment. There was a support stand set up with a Bunsen burner placed on the base of the stand. There was also a ring support clamped to the steel rod of the stand with a partially full beaker sitting on top of some wire gauze.

When Donnie saw that his brothers were gathered around the end of the table, adjacent from where he stood, he slipped on his safety goggles. He then picked up an eyedropper and filled it with a golden-colored liquid substance from a test tube. Just for added show, he brandished the dropper for all to see. He didn't exactly get the reaction he had been hoping for, but then again, he never really did.

Leo just stood there like a statue with his hands on his hips, as usual. Mikey's posture was a little more lopsided and a lot less attentive. Then, there was Raph. He was rooted in between the oldest and youngest turtles with his arms once again crossed over his plastron. His fingertips dug into his taut biceps and his whole body was rigid with impatience as he made absolutely no attempt to hide the fact that he didn't want to be there.

Seeing his three brothers standing there staring at him suddenly made Donnie feel a bit nervous, like a performer on the stage with the spotlight glaring down on them. He slid his tongue over his bottom lip and it felt like coarse sandpaper on even coarser sandpaper. Drawing in a deep breath, he then swallowed several times to moisten his throat before speaking, careful not to let his slight decline in confidence come through.

 _It's going to work this time. It has to work. It just has to…_

"Okay, this is it. With this new formula, I'm finally going to create a retro mutagen. Is everyone ready?"

"Let's just get this over with, Doctor Freakinstein."

Though Raph's response wasn't pleasant by any means, Donnie took it as a 'yes.' He then turned on the gas to the Bunsen burner and lit it so that it started to heat up the mutagen in the beaker.

After a few minutes, Donatello deemed that the ideal conditions for the experiment were met. It was time to run the test.

"Here we go." Holding the eyedropper over the beaker of mutagen, Donnie gently squeezed the bulb on the top of the pipette. He held his breath as he watched a single drop of the yellowish liquid from the dropper plummet down into the beaker with a 'sploosh.'

The mutagen inside the beaker turned an ugly, brownish color, and for a moment, that seemed to be the only reaction.

Donatello was about to groan in frustration when the contents of the beaker started to rapidly swell and effervesce.

"Uh, Donnie. Is it supposed to do that?" There was a hint of panic in Mikey's question. His eyes grew wide while he pressed the tips of his forefingers together apprehensively.

"Oh no," Donnie gasped out, staring down at the beaker in shock as though he wasn't sure what to do. There was an unlikely combination of horror and disappointment etched on his face.

"'Oh no?' What do you mean 'oh no?'" The bark in Raph's tone made Donnie flinch, but before the genius turtle could wager a response, the beaker before him started to vibrate and the volatile liquid substance within the cylindrical container began to thicken and rise to the surface. The now highly unstable-looking concoction in the glass beaker started to smoke and flow over like a volcano. Then, the beaker began to shake violently, much the way that Raph did when he was just about to –

 _ERUPT_!

"Get down!" Without further hesitation, Leonardo dove forward and tackled Donnie to the floor to protect him from the impending combustible explosion. At the same time as the leader in blue hurtled himself into Donnie, Raphael lunged at Mikey, pulling him down to the floor with him.

Not more than a half-second later, the beaker exploded and the forceful blast wind that followed turned every object on Donatello's worktable into a deadly projectile. The four turtles covered their heads as the fragments created by the explosion rained down upon them.

Once the smoke finally started to clear and the four of them were no longer being showered with debris, the brothers began to assess the damage done.

"Is everyone okay?" Was all that Leo could get out before he had to break into a coughing fit in order to expel the excess carbon monoxide out of his chest. His three brothers soon joined him in a fluctuating chorus of hacking set off by smoke inhalation and who knows what else they had just breathed in.

Leonardo was the first to push himself up into a sitting position and he instantly went about doing triage. To his right, Donnie had torn his goggles off and was still trying to cough up his lungs, but he appeared to be relatively uninjured. Leo then crawled towards the end of the table where Raph and Mikey had hit the deck. They were both attempting to push themselves up off the floor, all the while, clutching their heads and moaning. A quick once over revealed no life-threatening injuries. Thankfully, they were all okay, which meant the turtle in blue could breathe easier again. Well, as easy as he could after sucking in way too much smoke and fumes.

Scooting back towards Donnie, Leo helped his second youngest brother into a standing position. Once upright again, the brainy turtle rubbed his left arm gingerly and cringed as he gaped at the mess he had caused. The surface of the table had incurred surprisingly minimal damage, but everything else that had been within a three or four-foot radius of the blast had been obliterated. Luckily, Donatello's brothers seemed to be none the worse for wear, as well as his microscope and computer. Sadly, he could not say the same for his lab equipment, notes, and work. In the blink of an eye, they were all gone.

Donnie's face fell into the saddest of frowns, but no one noticed.

Leo was once again checking on Mikey and Raph. The red and orange clad brothers had both made their way to their feet and their bearings were slowly coming back to them.

"Bleckhh! Dude! I didn't know explosions tasted so nasty." After making a few exaggerated gagging sounds, Mikey's expression twisted into a classic 'yucky' face. He then repeatedly stuck his tongue in and out of his mouth, trying to clean his offended taste buds off by raking them back and forth over his teeth.

"This coming from the guy who eats pizza straight out of the dumpster!" Raph fired back, still favoring his head. He coughed into his fist a couple more times to make additional room for oxygen to enter his lungs.

Eyes hooded with misery, Donnie turned towards his brothers. "Guys… I'm really sorry. I had no idea the chemical was going to react like that. I – I'm so sorry."

It was at that point, a second explosion in the lab detonated. Only this time, the blast came from Raphael and the catalyst, as well as the intended target, was Donatello.

All of Raph's pent up grief, hurt, and rage came gushing out of him like a devastating tidal wave, crashing into to Donnie without mercy.

"You're always sorry! I've had it up to here with your excuses, Donnie! What? It wasn't enough that you almost killed Spike? Now, you almost killed all of us with another one of your crazy experiments!" Anger was practically steaming off Raph and it looked as though his veins were going to jump right out of his flesh.

Bypassing Leo, Raphael stormed over to where Donatello stood. The now-insanely furious turtle got up on his tiptoes so he was at level height with his tallest brother. This allowed Raph to loom his face within inches of Donnie's, much the way he had done with Leonardo earlier.

Feeling Raph's hot, angry breath blowing against his skin made Donnie shrink back in fear. He could see the indignation blazing in his temperamental brother's green eyes. The intellectual turtle had never seen his older sibling look at him with such animosity before. It was as though Raphael was staring at his most hated enemy.

"Raph… I – I didn't mean to – " Donnie tried to defend himself, but Raph wasn't having any of it. He would not allow his genius brother to surface for air from the flood of emotions now drowning him.

"I don't want to hear it anymore! You're always screwing everything up, Donnie! How many times have you nearly killed us now? How many times, huh?" Raph's screaming caused Donnie to take a couple steps back in fear, but the turtle in red just closed the gap right back up.

"Raph, please… " Voice deprived of even an ounce of strength, Donnie's plea came out just above a whisper. He wrapped his arms around his midsection as he dropped his gaze down to the floor, clearly ashamed by what he had done.

"Raphael! That's enough!" Always the consummate leader, Leonardo approached his two middle brothers, readying to intervene.

"No! It's not enough! All you ever do is put everyone in danger, Donnie! You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch! You're the reason Spike's gone! I lost my best friend because of you! It was all your fault! If you weren't such a walking disaster, he'd still be here!" With his rage now spiraling completely out of control, Raph gave Donnie's previously injured left arm and shoulder a rough shove.

The brainiac turtle winced in pain, but he managed to stifle a yelp that had attempted to escape the confines of his constricted throat. He was trying to put up a brave front. Trying desperately to not let his brothers see the emotional breakdown he was suffering on the inside, but Leo saw right through Donnie's façade. He could see that his second youngest brother was in pain, both physically and mentally.

"Raph!" Before Leo even finished yelling the hotheaded turtle's nickname, he had seized him by the shoulders and pushed him away from Donnie. The leader then stepped in between his two middle brothers, yet again, so he could shield Donatello from their currently psychotic sibling.

Unfortunately, Leonardo's intervention came several hurtful comments too late.

Behind Leo's protective wall, Donnie's face was the very epitome of anguish. His bottom jaw quivered against his will while his eyes shimmered with unspent tears. He didn't want his brothers to see him cry, but he was losing his battle to mask his agony. There was only one thing he could think of to keep his brothers from witnessing him fall apart. He had to leave.

"I'm sorry." With that said, Donatello grabbed his bo-staff and ran out of the lab as fast as his feet would take him.

"Donnie!" As Leonardo helplessly watched his distraught brother sprint out of sight, he was torn between two impulses: to go after Donatello or to beat the living daylights out of Raph. The blue-clad turtle's indecision left him temporarily paralyzed.

If Leo would have only known what was going to happen; he would have gone after Donatello in a heartbeat.

"Donnie!" The shrill sound of Mikey's cry echoed throughout the sparsely furnished laboratory. The youngest sibling was about to chase after his brainy big brother when Raph seized him by the back of the elbow and held him in place.

"Let him go. Maybe he'll actually stop and think about what he's done for once. He'll be back in time for patrol." The hotheaded turtle spoke as though the very thought of Donnie coming back disgusted him.

Both Mikey and Leo looked at Raphael with a mixture of incredulity and repulsion, appalled by the monster that their brother had just become right before their very eyes.

"What is _wrong_ with you? How could you have said those things, Raph?" Now it was Leonardo's turn to get up in his red-masked brother's face. It was taking every fiber of his being not to physically attack Raphael for what he had just done, but Leo knew that, as the leader and the eldest brother, he couldn't let his temper govern his actions. Master Splinter had always taught them that anger was self-destructive and to always try to use reason, not force.

Leonardo could hear his father's voice echoing inside his head…

" _To show mercy is not soft. It is a sign of true strength."_

If Leo were haul off and punch Raph in the face for his actions, then that would make him just as bad as his volatile brother. But that didn't mean the temptation wasn't there.

Again, Master Splinter's tranquil voice resonated in the back of Leonardo's mind…

" _Remember, Leonardo. The word 'nin' means patience and perseverance."_

The oldest turtle let out an exasperated sigh.

Sometimes, the hardest thing about being in charge was always having to do the right thing, even when it didn't feel like the right thing. Instead of resorting to violence, Leo decided to settle for knitting his eye ridges and pressing his lips into a scowl to passively demonstrate his anger. He knew it wasn't nearly as gratifying as clobbering Raph would've been, but as leader, it was more important for Leonardo to be the bigger, more responsible turtle than to get what he wanted.

" _Leadership is not about being appreciated. It is about responsibility. It doesn't matter that the burden is heavy. It matters that you carry it."_

Yes, being the responsible one definitely had its disadvantages…

Mikey, on the other hand, had no such obligations to uphold.

"What the heck crawled up your shell and died, you big jerk?" Wedging himself in between Leo and Raph, Mikey then took his turn at sticking his beak in Raph's face. The youngest turtle was exhibiting far more audacity than he normally dared to show around his temperamental brother.

If Leo didn't know any better, he would have sworn that Mikey was on the verge of attacking their hotheaded sibling; something the leader in blue could not condone. Playing the role of the mediator in Donnie's stead, Leo shifted into lecturing mode.

The eldest brother was to lectures as Raphael was to uncalled-for outbursts of anger.

"What you did just now was way out of line, Raph!"

"What I _did_ was tell the truth! Donnie had it coming, so don't start with me, Leo! And I'm not gonna stand here and listen to you make me out to be the bad guy! Arghh! I'll be in my room!" Letting out one last growl, Raph turned and trudged out of the lab.

"But what about Donnie?" The question came out in a whimper as Mikey peered up at Leo with his innocent, teary blue eyes, sad as can be.

"He's got his T-phone with him, Mikey. He'll be okay." Even though Leo had used his most soothing, big brother voice, Mikey still didn't look at all satisfied with the response. Additional convincing was needed. "Don't worry, Mikey. Donnie's just upset. He'll be back soon. Patrol starts in less than an hour. And if he's not back by then, we'll go out and find him, all right?"

Mikey sniffled a few times while he nodded and forced a half-smile. Painting on a smile of his own, Leonardo nodded back and patted his baby brother on the shoulder. The two of them then silently exited the lab and headed towards the main living space of the lair to wait for Donatello to return.

What they didn't realize at the time was that someone else was out there waiting for their genius brother…

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: Dah-dah-DAHHHHHH! Does anyone else have a really,**_ _ **really**_ _ **bad feeling about this? Sadly, you'll have to wait until next year to find out what happens.**_ ** _/_ (~.~)\**

 _ **I sure hope everybody enjoyed this chapter. If you did, please take a moment to**_ _ **favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment to let me know. Your feedback is really, really important to me and always very much appreciated. I adore all of you. *hugs***_

 _ **Thank you lots and lots and lots to my wonderful readers. I wish you all the happiest of holiday seasons! *more hugs***_

 _ ****Special Note: A giant thank you to everyone who has checked out my new story, 'Because You Weren't There.' I will be posting a new chapter sometime next week**_ **;)**


	4. Chapter 4 - Slashback

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: Well, the new year is here and so is a new chapter of 'Slash's Revenge.'_**

 ** _I want to take a moment to thank everyone for the overwhelming number of favorites, follows, likes, reblogs, reviews, and/or comments on this story. You're all so incredibly kind. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!_** **C=**

 ** _I also want to take a moment to thank my creative consultant/beta reader, Joanne N. Grey. She's one of my very favorite people on the planet and I simply adore her. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Joanne._**

 ** _Okay, l_** _ **et's get on with the chapter...**_ _ **;)**_ _ **CJ**_

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - Slashback**

The temperature outside had dropped significantly from the previous night. This served as a rather apropos metaphor given what had happened back at the lair to make Donatello flee to the surface that he was now sitting high above.

Using the silhouettes cast along the rooftops to conceal himself from the humans below, the purple-masked turtle peered down at the streets of New York City.

Aside from the traffic whizzing by well beyond the posted speed limit and the occasional colorfully outspoken pedestrian strolling along, it was a fairly quiet night. Of course, Donatello's idea of a quiet night was probably a lot different than what most people across the globe considered quiet. After all, he and his brothers spent the majority of their evenings either fighting off the Kraang or going head-to-head against the Shredder and his evil cohorts. Saving the world and taking down the bad guys was noisy business. Plus, the brothers had to do these things with Mikey at their sides and it was no great secret that the youngest turtle was typically louder than all of their foes combined. Always trying to 'chuk' every enemy in sight and constantly calling out his self-coined battle cry, 'Booyakasha!'

 _Dumbest. Word. Ever._

The worst thing was, Michelangelo used that stupid, made-up word so much, all the brothers were now guilty of blurting it out every now and then. Even the ever-serious Hamato Leonardo.

Whenever Donatello found himself unintentionally spouting off the ridiculous word, he could almost feel his IQ dropping by several points.

Hanging out with Mikey could definitely be taxing on the brain cells, as well as the nerves. Still, without the little jokester around, things sometimes tended to get a bit boring. Kind of like they were right now…

The highlight of Donnie's night out on the town so far had been witnessing a couple of gray squirrels duking it out over what looked to be a discarded lollipop. The grueling, ten-round boxing match had come to an abrupt end when a rather mangy-looking dog came by and chased the rodents off before either one of them could be declared the actual winner or claim what was left of the half-eaten sucker.

The genius turtle was pretty sure his younger brother would have found the no holds barred squirrel fight extremely entertaining. Although, ever since they had come across those freaky 'Squirrelanoids' a while back, Mikey seemed to be a little skittish around most small, woodland creatures. Just like Raph got whenever he saw a cockroach.

 _Raph…_

Donnie had been trying his best to avoid thinking of his hotheaded brother, because every time he did, it just made his heart sink even further.

Heaving out a dejected sigh, the turtle in purple sealed his eyes shut. He then began to inhale and exhale at a deliberately slower pace; the way Master Splinter had taught him to do during meditation practice. Listening to the calming sounds of vehicles rushing by below him, Donatello attempted to focus on the soft sensation of his mask tails brushing up against his skin while they flapped lazily about in the cool evening breeze. He breathed in and out through his nose, as deeply as he could, trying to quiet his thoughts and find his center.

But alas, meditation had never been one of Donatello's strong points, much to his father's continued frustration. Maybe that was because asking the intellectual turtle to clear his mind was sort of like asking Mikey to sit still.

Not going to happen.

 _Awww, yet another thing that I totally suck at…_

Keeping his eyes tightly screwed shut, Donatello once again attempted to harness his chi, but his efforts were ultimately wasted. The painful memory of what had transpired back at the lair made it impossible for him to achieve any kind of inner peace. All he could think about was what Raphael had said to make him run off…

" _I don't want to hear it anymore! You're always screwing everything up, Donnie! How many times have you nearly killed us now? How many times, huh?"_

The unkind remarks caused the night air to feel that much colder against the brainy turtle's already chilled skin.

Prying his eyelids apart, Donatello shook his head from side to side, hoping the movement might help shake Raphael's harsh words out of his thoughts.

 _No such luck…_

One of the downsides of being overly intelligent was that Donatello's mind tended to work like a sponge, retaining every little thing that he read, heard, and saw. While this could oftentimes be considered a blessing, there were plenty of times it could also be considered a curse. Especially those times when someone said something cruel to him. It was hard to forgive and forget when your photographic memory simply refused to let things go.

Of course, the fact that Donnie was presently sitting on the edge of the very same rooftop that they had been on when Raphael had finally managed to take 'Slash' down wasn't helping to alleviate the genius turtle's troubled thoughts one little bit.

After what had happened in his lab, Donatello had hastily fled the lair and taken to the rooftops. As the purple-clad brother had leapt from one building to the next, trying to escape the pain, some unspeakable force had compelled him to go back to the rooftop where they had last seen Spike (aka 'Slash'). For all of his intelligence, Donnie still couldn't fathom why the heck his internal compass would guide him to the exact same place that had caused them all so much suffering.

Maybe it was some demented form of self-punishment…

A way to make himself feel even guiltier for what he had done…

" _You're the reason Spike's gone! I lost my best friend because of you! It was all your fault! If you weren't such a walking disaster, he'd still be here!"_

It tore Donatello apart at the seams, knowing that, all this time, his immediate older brother had been blaming him for everything that had happened with Spike. Worse yet, his older brother had acted as though he _hated_ him for what had happened. The look of utter loathing on Raphael's face as he had said all those awful things – Well, it was something the genius turtle would never forget. Kind of like he would never forget the broken look on his red-masked brother's face after he had taken out Slash.

Donatello remembered that night far too well…

In order to stop his former pet from killing them all, Raphael had wisely opted to hit a pressure point on the underside of Slash's upper arm. The well-timed maneuver had managed to throw the psychotic mutant temporarily off-balance and the giant turtle wound up tumbling over the side of the building, down to the ground below. Although Raphael had desperately tried to save Slash from falling, the ninja in red was seconds too late.

The section of ledge that Donatello was now perched on overlooked the precise spot where Slash had crashed into the concrete below. From his current vantage point, the smartest turtle could see that the busted sidewalk, along with the torn awning that Slash had taken out on his way down, had since been repaired. Even from the substantial height that Donatello was at, he could easily see that the freshly poured sidewalk didn't quite match the color of the older concrete surrounding the area that Slash had crushed upon impact.

Somehow, that monster had walked away from what should have been a fatal fall. Which meant that, somewhere, that monster was still out there.

 _Oh, now there's a real heartwarming thought_ …

Sinking his gapped, top teeth into his lower lip to stop it from trembling, Donatello stood up and turned to glance across the empty expanse of rooftop.

Just the thought of Slash still being out there gave Donnie the creeps – almost like someone was watching him – but the intellectual turtle knew full well his reaction was only a sudden onset of paranoia brought on by his all-too-vivid recollections of _this_ place.

Being on the very same rooftop where Slash had nearly killed him and his brothers was a little too surreal for Donatello to stomach. It opened up a floodgate of memories that he'd just as soon forget. For the past three weeks, he had tried so hard to block them out, but he could still remember every haunting detail of that night. In fact, those deep-seated memories had awoken him with a start multiple times since the incident. The recurring nightmares he was suffering from had been realistic enough to keep him wide awake for the rest of the night far more times than he cared to admit. On those particular nights when he couldn't go back to sleep, Donnie would just stare up at the ceiling, wondering if any of his brothers were also experiencing bad dreams due to their encounter with Slash, but he had yet to ask any of them about it. Not even Mikey. The smartest turtle was too embarrassed to admit that he was still having trouble sleeping because his brain couldn't disconnect from the horrifying events of that fateful night.

It was all so clear in his mind, even twenty-one days later. He could still remember Slash's callused hands grabbing him from behind and dragging him away from Mikey. He could still remember desperately trying and failing to get his younger brother's attention as he was forcefully pulled into the shadows, out of sight. He could still remember Slash roughly hauling him off to a secluded rooftop, keeping his mouth covered the whole time so he couldn't cry out for help from his brothers. He could still remember Slash almost gashing his head wide open with his razor-sharp claws, narrowly missing him and slicing through a metal roof vent instead. He could still remember Slash snapping off the naginata blade of his bo-staff, and then, viciously beating him with his own weapon. He could still remember Slash grabbing him by the left arm and slamming him around like he was just some boneless ragdoll. Lastly, he could still remember the onslaught of Slash's fists, pounding him into unconsciousness.

It was like they would never stop…

Donatello had tried to defend himself against the much bigger mutant's assault, but Slash had easily overpowered him and beaten him senseless.

 _Too easily…_

The genius turtle subconsciously placed his right hand over his upper left arm, squeezing it as gently as possible, as if to comfort himself. He had thought his sprained arm had finally been getting better, but right now, it was throbbing something fierce. He wasn't sure if that was because he had jarred it when Leonardo had knocked him down to the floor to protect him from the explosion back in the lab, or if it was from when Raphael, in all of his anger, had shoved him. Of course, it could have just as soon been a phantom pain triggered by the sickening sense of déjà vu that he was getting from being up on _this_ rooftop again.

Trying to ignore the sudden shiver creeping up and down his spinal column, the brainiac turtle gazed back down to the street below and found himself staring at the new stretch of sidewalk yet again.

He was once more reminded of Raph…

" _All you ever do is put everyone in danger! You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch!"_

Donnie couldn't deny that there was an unsettling amount of truth in what his older sibling had said. He had needlessly put his brothers' lives in danger, over and over again, with his various explosions in the lab and his rather unpredictable inventions, such as the T-Pod and that laser-guided, missile-launching bo-staff. Then, there was that time he had almost killed all of them by using a Kraang power cell to fuel the Shellraiser. Oh, and Metalhead!

How could he possibly forget Metalhead?

He could still hear Raph chewing him out over that epic fail…

" _Yeah, not bad, except for that part where you built the thing in the first place! And the part where it broke! And the part where it tried to kill us! And the part – "_

" _Okay, I get it!"_

Donnie let out a lengthy breath of air that sounded more like he was deflating than breathing.

He had gone topside to run away from his problems, not make himself feel even worse than he already did.

 _Real brilliant idea coming back this spot, Donatello…_

Plucking his T-phone from his belt to check the display, the intellectual turtle could see that he had been gone for a little over thirty minutes now. If he wanted to make it home in time for nightly patrol, he would have to head back to the lair soon. But the truth was, he didn't really feel up to patrol. Not when he knew that Raph would be there…

" _You're always sorry! I've had it up to here with your excuses, Donnie! What? It wasn't enough that you almost killed Spike? Now, you almost killed all of us with another one of your crazy experiments!"_

Donnie was willing to bet that his temperamental older brother had no desire to go out on patrol with him, either. He was obviously not Raph's favorite turtle right now. Not that he had ever been Raph's favorite turtle. Sometimes, Donnie felt like his hotheaded brother only put up with him because he _had_ to. Raphael was obligated to associate with him by brotherhood, not because he actually liked him. If circumstances were different, Donnie felt reasonably certain that his red-clad sibling would have absolutely nothing to do with him. Ever.

 _I guess I can't blame him. I mean, I do keep trying to blow him up, along with anyone else who dares to get to know me._

 _Raph's supposed to be the one with the explosive personality, not me…_

Again, Donatello looked down at his T-phone and let out yet another lengthy sigh. As much as he didn't want to see Raph right now, the genius turtle knew that if he didn't return home on time, it would just get Leo and Mikey all worked up over nothing. The last thing Donnie wanted to do after all that had just happened was upset the rest of his brothers. He felt as though he had done enough damage already. Having one angry brother seemed more than sufficient.

Especially when that angry brother was Hamato Raphael…

 _I guess it's time to face the wrath of Raph. Maybe if I let him punch me in the face really,_ _ **really**_ _hard, he'll feel better and all will be forgiven…_

As soon as he completed his thought, Donatello did a facepalm.

 _Yeah, right, genius. And then, maybe later we can braid each other's hair and sing along with Raph's favorite pop songs…_

Donnie shook his head from side to side again.

If he was supposedly so darn smart, how could he be naïve enough to think for even a second that his temperamental brother would forgive him that easily?

 _Maybe my IQ is dropping faster than I thought…_

 _Thanks a lot, Mikey!_

A ghost of a smile played on Donatello's lips as he thought about his goofball little brother, but before long, the purple-clad turtle's features turned somber once again when it occurred to him that poor Mikey was probably wigging out over how long he had been gone for.

It was definitely time to head back to the lair. Not just because Donnie didn't want to unnecessarily worry anyone by showing up late for patrol, but also, because he didn't want to get stuck listening to a long-winded lecture from either Master Splinter or Leo on the importance of being punctual and respectful.

With a heavy heart, Donatello took one last look over the edge of the building before turning to make his way back to the lair, but he soon made the terrifying discovery that he was no longer alone on the rooftop.

Maybe he never had been…

With sudden dawning horror, the genius turtle realized much too late that it hadn't been just paranoia that he had felt earlier. His senses had been right on. Something had, in fact, been watching him and it was now blocking his path.

That something was humungous and green with spikes all over.

And unbeknownst to Donatello, that something had no intention of letting him go home.

Not ever again…

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: Oh my gosh! This is sooooo not going to bode well for Donnie, is it? /(**_ **O.O)\**

 **I'll warn you in advance, the next chapter is super intense.**

 _ **As always, please**_ _ **favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on this story if you are enjoying it and want me to continue posting updates. I would really appreciate the feedback and would love to hear from all of you.**_

 _ **Thank you very, very much for reading, my friends.**_ **;)** _ **CJ**_

 _ ***Special Note: I just want to quick thank everyone who read 'Because You Weren't There.' I was totally amazed by the positive response to the story and I'm so very grateful to all of you for your tremendous kindness. Thanks, again. *hugs***_


	5. Chapter 5 - Trying to Escape

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: I'm back with another chapter of 'Slash's Revenge' and things are about to get rather dramatic. I hope you're ready for it._**

 ** _Virtual hugs and cookies to everyone for all the wonderful feedback you have given me. I appreciate it so much and I'm super thrilled that readers are enjoying this story._**

 ** _High threes to my creative consultant/beta reader, Joanne N. Grey. She's all kinds of awesome. I appreciate your help more than you will ever know, my friend._**

 ** _Now, it's time to delve into some serious angst. Thank you all very, very much for reading. I hope you like the chapter_** _ **.**_ **;)** _ **CJ**_

* * *

 **Chapter 5 – Trying to Escape**

The lair was eerily quiet. There hadn't been so much as a peep for a good half hour now. All talking had ceased about ten minutes after Master Splinter had arrived home.

Raphael was lying on his bed with his arm pinned between his lumpy, striped pillow and the back of his head. His other arm was resting on his plastron while his fingers drummed lightly against his chest in an irregular rhythm. He stared up at the ceiling with an expression drifting somewhere between a frown and a grimace.

The silence made him want to scream, which was rather ironic, considering not all that long ago, he had been wishing for everyone to just shut up.

No one had approached the hotheaded brother's room since the incident. That was probably because they were all too busy blaming him for everything that had transpired.

 _What else is new?_

Raph could only imagine how Mikey and Leo had portrayed the whole ordeal in the lab to Master Splinter. There was no question in the red-masked turtle's mind that his brothers had depicted him as evil incarnate, with Leo doing everything in his power to sway Master Splinter to their side. Turning Raphael's own father against him.

 _Stupid goody-goody Leo! Always trying to be Sensei's pet…_

Upon Master Splinter's return to the lair, all Raph had heard of his family's conversation through his thick bedroom walls had been low, mumbling noises. He had failed to make out any actual discernible words since they had all been talking in hushed tones.

 _Even Mikey, for shell's sake!_

No doubt Raph's brothers had kept their voices down on purpose, so as to prevent the temperamental turtle from hearing what was actually being said.

"Mmrrrruhhh!"

Pushing himself up off the bed, Raphael began to pace around his room on the heaviest of feet. Guilt weighing him down and gnawing away at his insides while his own harsh words repeated in his head…

" _You're always sorry! I've had it up to here with your excuses, Donnie! What? It wasn't enough that you almost killed Spike? Now, you almost killed all of us with another one of your crazy experiments!"_

The turtle in red kept telling himself that he had done absolutely nothing wrong, but regardless, his gut continued to twist with remorse, and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why. Everything he had said to his nerdy little brother had been justified.

Still, Raphael couldn't forget the words…

" _I don't want to hear it anymore! You're always screwing everything up, Donnie! How many times have you nearly killed us now? How many times, huh?"_

The hotheaded turtle shook his head.

He refused to feel guilty for what had happened.

 _Refused_!

Donnie had nearly killed them… _again_! Just like he had nearly killed Spike with his previously botched experiment. Just like he had nearly killed everyone in the lair when that stupid missile-launching stick he created had exploded. Just like he had nearly killed them when he had built Metalhead.

The list went on and on.

How many more times was the family just going to stand by and let Donnie almost kill all of them before they finally realized what a threat he was to their safety?

" _All you ever do is put everyone in danger! You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch! You're the reason Spike's gone! I lost my best friend because of you! It was all your fault! If you weren't such a walking disaster, he'd still be here!"_

Raph cringed at the sound of his own voice inside his brain.

 _Okay, maybe that last part had gone a little too far…_

Reaching for his T-phone, the second oldest turtle checked the display for about the fortieth time since locking himself inside his room. He tried in vain to convince himself that the only reason he kept checking his phone was because he didn't want to be late for patrol. Heaven forbid he actually accept the fact that it was because he was worried about his little brother.

Donatello had been gone for just about an hour now, which was not all that unusual for the brainy turtle. The techno-geek liked to venture up to the surface on a regular basis, sometimes disappearing for hours at a time. Raph didn't know what exactly his genius brother did on all those solo trips topside, but he _did_ know that his genius brother was more than aware that his little excursions to the surface didn't excuse him from patrol, even if he was upset about something. Donnie _was_ the smart one, after all.

Glancing up at his wall clock, and then, back down at his T-phone, Raphael felt anger billow up from deep inside him. He was beginning to think that Donnie was doing this on purpose; waiting until last second to show up for patrol so everyone would feel sorry for him. Raph wouldn't put it past any of his brothers to do something like that. They were all guilty of constantly trying to make him look bad. Just like they had done the day of Spike's transformation…

" _Always me! Right? I've got the bad attitude! I'm the bad guy! They just don't get it!"_

Raph was about to growl out of spite when his gaze landed on the picture taped to the outside of his rusty, old storage locker. It was a photograph of his three brothers, smiling for the camera. Donnie was waving and had his arm draped across Leo's shoulders. The oldest turtle was striking some overconfident pose, trying to look all cool. And Mikey, not surprisingly, had gotten too close to the camera as the picture had been taken, so most of his body was cut off. It was the hotheaded turtle's favorite picture of his brothers. Or, at least it had been up until Spike/Slash had run his nails across the image, leaving hideous claw marks over the face of each of Raphael's brothers.

That once sentimental photograph now made Raph shudder inside his shell, forever reminding him that Slash had been out to destroy his brothers from the start. Even before that monster had left the lair that night, he had wanted to _kill_ them.

All because of what Raphael had said…

" _Why? Why are you doing this?"_

" _The others hold you back. Limit your potential. Ya don't need 'em. Just like you said."_

" _No! They're my brothers. I never wanted this."_

" _There's no turning back now."_

" _Stop! I won't let you hurt 'em!"_

But Raph had let Slash hurt them…

The red-clad turtle closed his eyes and slammed his fist into the door of his locker, just below the marred picture of his siblings.

How could Spike have turned into something so awful? Something so full of hate? So full of violence and rage?

Then, something else Slash had said the night of his transformation replayed in Raphael's head…

" _That's right, Raph. We're not like the others. They're weak, but we're powerful. Our anger makes us strong."_

The temperamental turtle's eyes flew open with a start and his heart pounded inside his chest. The words had been so crystal-clear, he could have sworn that Slash was standing directly in front of him, repeating the quote verbatim.

But the only thing in front of Raphael was that darn picture. He would have pulled the thing down right there and then, but it almost felt like he would be betraying his brothers if he did.

Like he deserved the pain it caused…

"Arrrhhhh!"

 _This guilt crap is for chumps!_

The red-banded turtle began pacing around his room again, trying to clear his head. He wished that someone – _anyone_ – would make some noise already. Up until now, Raph had never thought the day would come when he actually found himself longing to hear his baby brother's annoying voice. Anything that might divert him from his stupid guilty conscience.

Raphael was half-tempted to start wailing on his 'Charred Walls' drum set, just to drown out the dreary silence, but he knew that that would only attract unwanted attention from his family. Namely, Master Splinter. The wise, old rat would surely recognize the ruckus as a secret cry for help and insist on discussing what was troubling Raphael. Sensei would try his best to get his volatile son to open up about his inner feelings. Those kinds of chats _never_ went well.

Walking over to his bed, Raph flopped down onto his carapace and stared up at the ceiling yet again. He couldn't stop thinking about Slash and what he had said…

" _That's right, Raph. We're not like the others. They're weak, but we're powerful. Our anger makes us strong."_

What if he was more like Slash than he cared to admit?

 _No! I'm not like him! I'm not! I never wanted to hurt my brothers!_

But if he never wanted to hurt his brothers, then why had he said all those cruel things to Donnie? What R had said to his genius brother went much further than just blaming him for what had happened to Spike. What he had said to Donnie had been meant to cut far, far deeper than that . . .

" _You're always sorry! I've had it up to here with your excuses, Donnie!"_

" _I don't want to hear it anymore! You're always screwing everything up, Donnie!"_

" _All you ever do is put everyone in danger! You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch!"_

Frustrated beyond belief with everything in general, Raphael dragged his hands down his face. He could feel remorse start to flow through him right along with his anger. It was not a good combination and it made him want to bang his head against a wall.

 _This is ridiculous! So what if I hurt Donnie's feelings? I didn't do anything wrong!_

Sinking his head further into his pillow, the turtle in red listened to the sound of silence. In the back of his mind, he kept telling himself that, any second now, Donnie was going to come stepping through the turnstiles of the lair and all this worrying garbage would be for nothing.

Everyone was totally overreacting.

So why did Raph still feel a sickening sense of dread festering in the depths of his stomach?

* * *

"Hiya, Donnie boy."

The voice was just as scratchy and horrifying as Donatello remembered.

"S – Slash?" Taking a few clumsy steps backwards, Donnie tried to widen the gap between himself and the much larger mutant, but the genius turtle didn't have a whole of real estate to work with. The backs of his ankles were already scraping against the raised ledge surrounding the rooftop.

There was nowhere to go but down…

 _Oh, now that's really reassuring! Way to think positive!_

Donnie would have continued to mentally berate himself, but that awful, grating voice sounded out again, distracting him from his thoughts.

"Long time no see, Donatello. Did ya miss me?"

The thick lump caught in the frightened turtle's throat prevented him from answering the question with actual words. The only noise he was able to emit was a tiny whimper.

Frozen with fear, the brainy turtle just stared wide-eyed at the immense green figure standing only a couple feet away from him. Somehow, this situation was even more terrifying than his first encounter with Slash. Maybe that was because Donnie hadn't known what the monster before him was capable of the first time they had met. Or maybe it was because, that time, there had at least been a slight chance that his brothers would find him. This time, there was no way they were going to come to his rescue. At least, not any time soon. They were all still back at the lair, waiting for him to return for patrol.

He was in trouble.

 _Serious trouble_.

As each passing second ticked by, Donnie's breathing grew noticeably more erratic while his overactive brain started to calculate his chances. Slash was more than twice his size and who knows how much stronger.

 _Three times… maybe four…_

Either way, Slash was a heck of a lot more powerful than Donatello was. Not to mention the enormous beast's hands were bigger than the purple-masked ninja's head and his shell was about the size of a mid-sized sedan.

 _Okay, maybe that's slightly exaggerated… It's probably only the size of a compact car,_ Donnie thought wryly. His brain then finished its analysis of the situation and the bothersome know-it-all voice in the back of his head informed him that the odds of him surviving this situation were about eight-hundred-forty-nine to one.

 _That is sooooooo NOT helping!_

Sometimes, the intellectual turtle wished his brain had an off button. It would really come in handy during times like this.

"What's the matter, Donatello? Are ya scared?" The smug expression that unfurled across Slash's face was eerily reminiscent of one Raphael might wear.

"No!" Despite his answer being a flat-out 'no,' Donnie's outward appearance did everything possible to contradict his highly definitive response. He couldn't stop his entire body from trembling and he could feel that he was starting to sweat despite the bitter chill in the night air.

Amused by the scrawny turtle's reaction, Slash threw his head back and let out a deafening laugh that probably could be heard from five city blocks away.

With Slash's attention momentarily diverted, Donatello seized the opportunity to make a beeline for the next rooftop, guessing that his greatest probability of escape was to outrun the much bulkier reptile. Plus, if he could manage to get far enough ahead of Slash, he would be able to call his brothers for help.

And so, the turtle in purple just concentrated on moving as fast as possible, nimbly leaping from building to building. But despite all Donatello's fleetness, Slash had size on his side.

In a cruel twist of fate, the larger mutant barreled into Donnie from behind and knocked him face down onto his plastron right as he stepped foot onto the very same rooftop where Slash had beaten him to a pulp.

This just wasn't the genius turtle's day.

Upon his rather rough landing, Donatello frantically scrambled to break free, but Slash's massive weight kept him pinned prone to the rooftop.

"Heh, heh. Nice try, Donnie boy. For a second there, I thought you might actually get away, but I should've known you'd be too weak to escape." Slash settled more and more of his weight onto Donatello's shell until he elicited a hiss of pain out of the smaller turtle.

"Wh – What do you w – want?" The question came out in the form of a wheeze as Donatello struggled to catch his breath. The awkward landing had pushed all the wind out of him, and now, Slash was crushing him with his massive size. The smartest turtle was starting to wonder how long his carapace could withstand the pressure being put on it. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he could have sworn that he had heard something crack.

"What do I want? Ha! That's for me to know and you to find out." The ominous way that Slash snarled out the words made Donnie shiver underneath the gigantic mutant. Again, Slash laughed at the scrawny turtle's inability to mask his fear. He found his victim's frailty entertaining.

Then, without any warning, Donatello felt Slash's weight lift off of him. The genius turtle's first instinct was to immediately curl up onto his side, figuring it was his best defense. His breathing instantly became easier, but only for a split second. Before Donnie even knew what had hit him, his body was suddenly inundated with a shock of unbearable pain. Gasping for air, he clutched his left thigh where the worst of the overwhelming pain seemed to be emanating from. As the pain continued to course through him, Donnie weakly peered up and saw Slash's bloodied mace hovering above him. The gruesome sight made the wounded ninja clutch his upper leg that much tighter.

Up until this point, Donatello had never had the displeasure of being struck by a mace before and he was eternally grateful for that, because he was in absolute agony. The pain was so severe, it felt as though his leg was being stabbed with thousands of red hot fire pokers. His breathing was coming out in frantic hiccups while he shook uncontrollably, clinging to his injured limb.

"Let's see you try to get away now." Jagged lips drawn back into a patronizing sneer, Slash nudged Donatello's carapace with his stained weapon. The brief humming sound that followed indicated that the behemoth was quite satisfied with the damage he had inflicted upon the smaller turtle's leg.

Donnie was still lying on his side, grasping his leg for dear life; afraid to see just how grave the injury currently hidden by his hands was. He was pretty sure his leg wasn't broken, but he knew it was bad. Bad enough to prevent him from walking on the limb anytime soon, just as Slash had intended.

There was only one last viable option that the genius turtle could think of to possibly save his shell. He coiled himself up into a tighter ball, pretending to be in excruciating pain, when in all actuality, he was reaching for his T-phone to send his brothers a quick message.

Unfortunately, Slash was a lot more perceptive than Donnie had counted on.

"What do you think you're doing?" Seizing Donatello by the forearm, Slash lifted the wounded turtle partially up off the rooftop and violently shook him by the arm until his phone fell out of his hand.

Donnie fought with all his might to free himself from Slash's grip, hitting him and kicking him as hard as he could with his good leg. Desperately trying to get to his T-phone. All he needed was a second or two to send out an emergency message to his brothers, but just as Donatello's outstretched fingertips were about to make contact with his phone, Slash kicked the device several feet out of reach. The larger mutant then flung his free arm out and backhanded the genius turtle across the face, making his head jerk backwards and stars dance in his vision.

Though extremely dazed from the vicious blow to the face, Donatello still had enough presence of mind to whip out his bo-staff. Without a moment's hesitation, he swung his weapon at his attacker's head, but Slash caught the wooden staff in the palm of his hand just before it slammed into his temple.

 _Aw, sewer apples!_

"You're a lot braver than I thought, Donatello." The raspy words were followed by a despicable cackle before Slash added, "Dumber, too." He then ripped the bo-staff straight out of Donnie's hand and proceeded to strike the already injured turtle across the chest with it.

Donatello let out a yelp of pain from the blow to his plastron, and then again, when Slash struck him on the arm that he had previously injured.

"Just like old times, huh, Donatello?" Casting the bo-staff aside, Slash finally released his hold on the purple-masked turtle's forearm and Donnie fell onto his plastron once again with an 'oomph' sound.

Turning his head to the side, the genius turtle watched on helplessly as his weapon rolled even further out of reach than his T-phone. The sight made his heart sink in despair.

For a moment, the only sound that could be heard on the rooftop was Donatello's ragged breathing, until Slash started to make a low, rumbling sound in the back of his throat. He continued to make this growling noise while he used his huge foot to shove the smaller reptile onto his back. Looming over the defeated turtle, Slash intimidatingly leered down at his pathetic captive.

Unable to raise his voice above a whisper, Donatello panted out his response. "Why… Why are you… d – doing this?"

"You mean you haven't figured it out yet? I thought you were the smart one." Slash leaned in closer to the wounded turtle so that only a few inches separated the two of them, waiting for the so-called genius to guess what the bigger mutant had in store for him.

"Y – You… You want… to use… m – me as bait… to get my brothers." Sullenly looking away from Slash's blazing green eyes, Donnie nearly choked on his next breath. The thought of his brothers walking straight into a trap because of him was nothing short of gut-wrenching.

Without a single ounce of sympathy, Slash grabbed Donatello by his bruised face and forced the distraught turtle to look at him. The brainy ninja squirmed in the larger mutant's staunch grip, but Slash could feel the olive-green turtle's resistance fading fast. That submissiveness made Donatello the perfect prey for Slash's plan.

"Not exactly. I want to use you as revenge on Raphael. He'll never get over losing you."

"You're... You're going to k – kill me?" Unable to disguise his horror, Donatello felt tears start to prick his eyes. He had always liked to think that he would face death with valor and dignity, but now that the end was staring him in the face, he didn't feel all that brave. Mostly, he just felt nauseous.

He didn't want to die.

"Kill you? So soon? Why, we're just getting started here, Donnie boy. Maybe I'll let you talk to your brothers when you wake up from your little nap."

There was now a wicked grin plastered on Slash's face that absolutely terrified Donatello.

 _Nap? That can't be good…_

Overwhelmed by panic, Donnie wildly attempted to writhe free, but he was no match for his opponent's raw strength.

Slash hoisted Donatello up by his injured leg and started swinging him around like he was a club, slamming him into the rooftop, over and over again, without repent. The larger mutant felt the scrawny turtle start to go limp in his grasp, but that didn't slow Slash's momentum one little bit. He just kept swinging to his heart's content.

At first, all that Donnie could focus on was the indescribable pain. It was everywhere, but before long, it oddly began to subside, like someone was mercifully turning a dimmer switch to make his agony gradually fade to nothing. With each brutal blow, he felt more and more removed from his body as he slipped further into darkness.

And then, all went black…

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: This chapter was a bit intense, but wait until the next one. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. I would say it's quite possibly the most nerve-racking chapter I've ever written. Everyone will finally find out what Slash's big plan is.**_ **'** **/(*o*)\'**

 _ **As always, please take a moment to**_ _ **favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on this story to let me know if you are enjoying it. Your feedback means the world to me and I always get excited to hear from everyone. C=**_

 _ **Thank you all so much for the continued support. *hugs***_ **;)** _ **CJ**_


	6. Chapter 6 - Tough Call

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: Chapter 6 of 'Slash's Revenge' is here and it's my favorite chapter of this story so far. I'm really excited to share this one with you._**

 ** _Thank you so much to every one of my readers, followers, and friends. Next month marks the second anniversary of me posting my very first story online (remember 'A Shell of Himself'?). I'm so incredibly grateful for the many wonderful friends I've made from this amazing experience. You are all such tremendous blessings. Thank you with all my heart. *hugs*_**

 ** _Okay, I'm getting super sappy, aren't I? I just wanted to let you all know how much I appreciate you._** **='}**

 ** _Humongous thanks to my awesome creative consultant/beta reader, Joanne N. Grey. ILY, girl!_**

 ** _All righty then! Onto the chapter . . ._**

 ** _Thanks for reading, everyone._** **;)**

 _ **CJ**_

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – Tough Call**

 _Ten minutes…_

It was now ten minutes past the time that patrol should have kicked off, but Raphael still hadn't heard Donatello come home yet.

Who knew just how slowly ten minutes could be?

As each minute ticked by, another knot looped in Raphael's apprehensive stomach. He was finding it harder and harder to convince himself that his genius brother had simply lost track of the time while rummaging through some random junkyard. Sure, Donnie tended to get caught up in his work every now and then, but it wasn't like the genius turtle not to call and check in with one of them if he knew he was going to be late. That's because Donatello knew darn well that any time one of them was late for patrol without justifiable cause, they would get an ear slit full from Leo almighty.

Raphael rolled his eyes just thinking about his older brother.

The three youngest turtles had all had the incredible misfortune of being on the receiving end of one of the fearless leader's infamous earfuls. Michelangelo especially! Out of all the brothers, Mikey had always been the one least likely to show up for something on time. The reason for that being he was much too easily distracted by shiny objects, ABC gum, things with buttons, small animals, and his own toes.

On the flip side, Donatello was the brother _most_ likely to arrive as scheduled; far more reliable than his brothers in orange and red. He was also far more considerate, always calling to let someone know if there was even a slight chance he would be fashionably late. Probably because the mild-mannered, good-natured boy genius never wanted to worry anyone.

 _Well, apparently, he's okay with worrying everyone now…_

The voices in the main living space of the lair were beginning to noticeably grow in volume, alerting Raphael that the rest of his family were also well aware that Donnie was now officially late. The temperamental turtle could hear that panic was starting to set in. Mikey's voice was now almost loud enough to be fully understandable, even through the thick walls of the lair. Over the course of the past thirty seconds or so, Raph had made out the words 'D,' 'totally,' and 'wigging.'

Much to the red-masked turtle's own discomfort, he had yet to hear the distinct ringtone of anyone's T-phone sing out. Not since Donnie had left. And that was certainly not for a lack of listening, because Raphael had been listening much, _much_ closer than normal.

A half-growl, half-whine deflated out of the hotheaded turtle. He was presently sitting on the edge of his bed, staring down at the display of his T-phone, at a complete loss for what to do. If he were to call his genius brother up at this point, it would be a definite sign of weakness on his part. Even if the turtle in red didn't verbally admit to being wrong, calling Donnie's T-phone would be the nonverbal equivalent of doing so. As far as Raphael was concerned, phoning his missing brother would be like openly telling everyone he was a wimp.

 _Pfffttt!_

Hamato Raphael was a lot of things, but a wimp was certainly _not_ one of them!

The temperamental turtle wasn't about to let his little brother make him out to be some kind of wuss. After all, Donnie and his huge, pathetic, puppy dog eyes had already managed to make Raph look like a 'big jerk', as Mikey had so eloquently put it back in the lab.

Donnie was definitely playing this whole turtle in distress role to a T. The later he came home, the guiltier the hotheaded ninja felt. There was no doubt in Raphael's mind that his smartest brother was just dragging all of this out in order to make him to look bad and force him to cave under the pressure…

 _Nice try, Brainiac, but I'm not giving in._

Raph stayed immobile on the edge of his bed, glued down by his own stubbornness.

Another minute crept by, followed by several more.

Still, nothing.

Waiting had never been one of Raphael's strong suits and this particular time was no exception. The suspense was starting to tear him apart at the seams. Even worse was the remorse.

If anything had happened to Donnie because of him…

All of a sudden, Raph was struck by a memory of something he had said to Slash the night that monster had attacked all of them…

" _Sorry, Slash… My brothers come first. No matter what."_

Raphael wondered where that memory had been when he was placing all the blame on Donnie for what had happened to Spike.

How had _that_ been putting Donnie first?

And how could Raph solely blame his brainiac brother for everything when he himself had been the one who had carelessly left Spike alone in his room with a container of mutagen?

If the temperamental turtle wouldn't have hastily taken that canister away from Donnie, Spike would still be Spike.

The more Raphael thought about the day of Spike's transformation, the more disgusted he became with himself. Even after he had been so cruel to Donnie that day, his little brother had still tried to protect him. Both of his little brothers had . . .

" _Slash! You see? That's what real friends do! They stand up for each other! I'd rather be like my brothers than you any day."_

Despite being badly injured by Slash's attack, Donnie and Mikey had had no qualms with risking their own lives to save Raph from Slash's onslaught. Yet, just three weeks after the incident, Raphael had repaid his second youngest brother by chewing him out and telling him that he was nothing but a screw-up and a walking disaster.

All without a shred of remorse…

And still, the last thing Donnie had said to Raph just before he had left the lair was that _he_ was sorry.

Clutching his head in his hands, Raphael let out a growl.

 _What is wrong with me?_

The hotheaded turtle couldn't take it anymore. The guilt was killing him.

He bolted out of his room and headed straight towards the edifying voices of Leo and Mikey.

It didn't take long for Raph's brothers to notice his presence. As soon as he stepped foot into the main living space of the lair, he was greeted by his youngest brother's screechy voice.

"Raph! Dude! Donnie's not back yet and he won't answer his T-phone! We tried it like a hundred times! Well, okay, maybe it was more like ten or twelve. But either way, he's still not answering!"

Making his way down into the pit of the lair, the hotheaded turtle took a few moments to assess the situation, much the way that Donnie would have had he been there.

Raphael could see the panic in Mikey's big, blue eyes and he could tell his baby brother was struggling to keep his emotions in check. While it wasn't unusual for Michelangelo to openly display what he was feeling inside, it was still hard to see him so visibly upset.

Then, there was Leo…

When Raph turned towards his older brother, he could see the poorly repressed alarm in Leonardo's normally steely, blue eyes. Fearless wasn't looking all that fearless. This troubled Raphael even more than Mikey's reaction. Leo was supposed to be the one who kept it together during times of crisis. Not the one getting all rattled.

"Where's Master Splinter?" Through squinted eyelids, Raphael glanced around the room, knowing that he had heard his father's return earlier.

"He's in the Dojo. I don't think he wanted us to see that he's worried, too. This isn't like Donnie, Raph." The anger that had resided in Leo's voice earlier in the evening was stripped away, replaced by apprehension. Raphael couldn't help but wonder if his older brother had a bad feeling in his gut, similar to what he himself had been experiencing, but the temperamental turtle's stubborn pride prevented him from asking.

"He's probably just at April's." It was obvious from the indifference in Raphael's tone that he was doing a much better job of concealing his anxiety than his brothers, but that didn't mean he wasn't just as nervous as them.

"You think we didn't try that already? She hasn't talked to him all night!" If there was any doubt that Leonardo was stressed out before, there was no question about it now. His voice had just sounded about three octaves higher than normal.

Thinking Leo was being a bit melodramatic, Raph quickly tried to downplay the situation.

"I'm sure he's fine. You two are getting your bandanas in a twist over nothing."

"Maybe you should try calling him, Raph." No sooner had Leonardo finished making his suggestion, when he started gesturing towards Raphael's phone, like the hotheaded turtle was too stupid to figure out what his older brother had meant by 'calling him.'

Raph let out a gruff snort before snarling out his response.

"If he didn't pick up for you or Mikey, why the heck would he pick up if I called him?" The red-masked turtle couldn't follow his older brother's logic at all.

Had Leo magically forgotten why Donnie had left the lair in the first place?

Did the words ' _You're always screwing everything up, Donnie'_ not ring a bell _?_

"Just humor me, Raph. Please."

"Fine!"

Sucking in a sharp intake of breath through his clenched teeth, the temperamental turtle snatched up his T-phone and jabbed his thick fingertips into to the buttons much more aggressively than seemed necessary. He was treating the device as though it had wronged him in a former life or something.

Holding the phone up to his ear slit, Raphael waited impatiently. All the while, he glared daggers at Leonardo.

Much to the hotheaded turtle's surprise, his brainy brother actually answered.

"R – Raph…" Donnie choked on the word, as if it was a struggle just to get his brother's name out.

Raphael would have thought the strangled sound of Donatello's voice a bit strange if not for the bitter fight the two of them had had moments before the genius turtle had fled the lair.

Well, it wasn't so much of a fight as it was Raph yelling at Donnie and hurting his feelings…

Clearly, the smartest turtle was still upset over what had happened back in the lab.

Somehow, just hearing Donnie's voice over the phone washed away a majority of the remorse that had been eating away at Raph for the past hour or so. Now that the turtle in red had verbal confirmation that his missing brother was safe and just off pouting somewhere, he suddenly felt a little less sentimental over what had happened and whole a lot more like his insensitive self. Sure, Raphael still felt bad for what he had said to Donnie to make him run off, but the hothead didn't let something like a guilty conscience stop him from addressing his younger brother with his usual absence of tact.

"Donnie, where the shell are you? Why haven't you been answering your phone? You're late for patrol and Mikey and Leo are freaking out!" Even though, only seconds before, Raph had also been 'freaking out' over the fact that Donnie hadn't returned home yet, the temperamental turtle did an admirable job of stifling any residual trace of panic with his angry tone.

Raph was about to pat himself on the carapace for a job well done when the unspeakable happened.

"Hey, Raphael."

The gravelly voice that growled through Donnie's end of the line made the red-clad turtle's blood run cold and he nearly dropped his phone.

"S – Spike?" All of the air instantaneously expelled out of Raph's lungs, like they had been depressurized, while his heart came to a screeching halt.

If Raph gasping the name 'Spike' into his T-phone hadn't alerted Leo and Mikey to the fact that something terrible had happened, the horrorstruck expression on their hotheaded brother's face certainly had done so. Raphael looked as though he was about to throw up or pass out. Maybe both.

Less than a split second later, Leo and Mikey were beside Raph; both trying to get closer to their red-masked brother's phone, anxious to hear what was being said.

"It's Slash now, remember?" Came the croaky response.

Raphael gripped his T-phone so tightly in his hand, he nearly cracked the casing that housed the inner components of the small device.

"Yeah, how could I forget?"

That awful voice…

" _Heh… never liked the name 'Spike.' Call me... Slash."_

That ghastly night…

Everything about it still haunted Raphael's nightmares. When he closed his eyes, he could still see visions of Slash pounding his brothers into oblivion. He could still see every last angry mark that had littered their skin.

That sadistic monster had beaten them all within an inch of their lives without showing a single ounce of regret, and now –

Now, that sadistic monster had Donnie.

"Where are you and what have you done to my brother?"

As infuriated as Raphael was, he knew he had to somehow keep a level head for Donnie's sake, but he was having a difficult time clinging to what little remained of his self-control. He kept thinking about the night of Spike's mutation and how badly Slash had injured Donatello. Even though his immediate younger brother did his best to act like his sprained arm wasn't bothering him anymore, Raph could clearly see that Donnie still favored his left shoulder.

Just the thought of Slash attempting to practically twist Donnie's arm off made Raphael's insides come to a rapid boil. Adding further fuel to the hotheaded turtle's fire were the tears now streaming down Mikey's freckled cheeks and the mortified look on Leonardo's face.

It was taking everything in the red-clad turtle's power not to scream obscenities into the phone that he was trying not to crush in his bare hands.

"Me and Donnie boy had a little unfinished business to take care of. Isn't that right, Donatello?"

All Raph could hear in response from his genius brother was a small, hiccupped whimper which was nearly smothered by the sound of Slash's vile cackling.

"I swear, if you so much as scratched a scute on his plastron – " Raph purposely stopped mid-sentence, scared to death that if he let his temper spiral out of control like he usually did, the consequences of his actions would be severe for his little brother. Donnie was at the mercy of a vicious being that had already shown them that he had no mercy.

Out of the corner of his eye, Raphael could see that Leo had somewhat pulled himself together and was presumably trying to pinpoint Donnie's location via GPS. To Raph's left, he could see that Mikey was making a mad dash for the Dojo, no doubt to inform Master Splinter what was going on.

As his brothers readied themselves to go after Donatello, Raphael knew that his job was to keep Slash on the line for as long as possible. Not just to buy them more time, but also, to distract the psychotic mutant holding their smartest brother hostage. The longer Raph kept his former pet turtle talking, the less likely he would attack Donnie.

"You'll what, Raphael? You'll track me down? You'll kick my shell? Ha! I'd like to see you try. It seems to me like the last time we met, I pretty much mopped the rooftop with the four of you. Are you looking for a rematch, Raphael?"

"All I care about is my brother! Let me talk to Donnie, Slash!" It was a dangerous line Raph was walking, being so audacious. Slash could hang up and destroy or toss away Donnie's T-phone at any moment. He could just disappear into the night with Donnie in tow and there was nothing they could do to stop him from where they were at. That thought alone scared Raph half to death.

There was a chance that they might not ever see Donnie again if the hotheaded turtle said something to push Slash past his limits.

"I'm afraid Donatello isn't really feeling up to talking right now. He's had a bit of a rough night." The mock sympathy in Slash's belittling, sing-song voice made Raphael want to reach through the phone and tear the larger mutant's throat out.

"I want to talk to my brother! _**Now**_!"

It was at this point that Mikey returned to the main living space of the lair with Master Splinter following behind him in much hastier fashion than usual. The fact that even his father looked scared didn't help Raph's confidence any, that much was for sure.

"Oh, all right. If you're gonna get snippy about it… Donatello, your brother wants to talk to you."

It sounded as though there was some sort of struggle going on in the background. Raph guessed that meant that Donnie was refusing to cooperate. While this made the older turtle proud, it terrified him at the same time. His obstinate little brother was still ornery enough to put up a fight, but Raph knew that that persistence and tenacity were only going to tick Slash off.

The rustling sounds died down and the red-masked turtle heard Donnie let out a painful cry before his voice came over the phone again.

"H – Hello…" Somehow, Donnie sounded even frailer than he had before, if that was at all possible. Raph tried not to let that stress him out more than he already was, but failed miserably.

"Donnie! Are you okay?"

"R – Raphie."

 _Raphie…_

That was something Donnie hadn't called Raphael for quite some time now. Not since they were little kids.

Hearing his brainy brother call him by his childhood nickname just about made Raph choke on a sob, but he quickly reminded himself that he had to stay strong for Donatello.

"Talk to me, Donnie." Driven by a strong sense of urgency, Raph's tone came out far more panicked sounding than he had intended. He didn't know how long he would be allowed to talk to his brother, so his patience was hanging on by a fraying thread.

The next words Donatello wheezed out made the red-masked turtle's world start to crumble around him.

"I… I'm sorry… I'm so s – sorry."

Raphael's breath hitched in his throat.

Donnie was sorry. Again, _he_ was sorry! Raph had done all of this to his younger brother, and yet, Donatello was the one apologizing for the second time that night.

The temperamental turtle shook his head, utterly appalled by his own actions.

 _I'm the worst brother ever…_

"No, Donnie… _I'm_ the one who should be sorry. You don't need to apologize for anything, little brother. Got that? Now, tell me. Are you okay? Has he hurt you?" Raph's voice was much firmer than just moments before; only because he desperately needed to know the answer to his questions. The suspense was eating him alive.

"Y – Yes."

Raphael cringed at the vague response, praying to whatever or whomever might be listening from above that his brother was responding 'yes' to his first inquiry ('Are you okay?') and not to the second ('Has he hurt you?'). But the hotheaded turtle was only fooling himself. He knew darn well the answer was to his latter question. The sound of Donnie's voice and the way that he was panting heavily into the phone confirmed as much.

"How bad, Donnie?"

"R – Raph… you d – don't – "

"How bad, Donatello?!"

There was a brief pause and Raph could hear his genius brother fighting tooth and nail not to cry.

"'B – Bleeding p – prof – fusely b – bad," Donnie breathed out, barely audible. He sounded so much younger than the last time they had spoken. Back when Raphael had been so cruel to him.

The red-clad turtle's chest constricted around his aching heart, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

This was all his fault.

 _All_ his fault…

Donatello had left the lair because of the horrible things that Raphael had said to him and Slash had taken advantage of the situation. The hotheaded turtle should have gone after his genius brother the moment he had run off, but he had been too darn stubborn to admit that he was wrong.

Now, Donatello was in grave danger; all because of Raph's selfish actions.

 _What have I done?_

"Listen, Donnie! It's gonna be okay. You've just gotta hold on for a little bit longer. Can you do that for me? I promise you that I'm gonna find you soon. I won't let him hurt you again, little brother. And I swear on my life that I will make him pay!" Uncharacteristically letting his sentimental side show, Raphael's solemn vow was saturated with every last drop of conviction he could rally from within.

Sadly, the ninja in red's tone and words said one thing, but his conscience said otherwise…

Raph hated himself for lying to his frightened brother the way that he just had, offering him false hope merely to comfort him for a few fleeting moments. Raphael could hear the fear monopolizing what little voice Donnie had left, and as his big brother, the hotheaded turtle just wanted so badly to make his younger brother feel safe, if only for a second or two. And so, he had lied, knowing full well he had no chance of protecting Donnie from Slash. There was no way Raphael could get to his brother in time to stop that monster from injuring him any further.

However, there had been some truth to what Raph had said as well. If it was the last thing he ever did, the turtle in red would find Donatello and he would personally make Slash rue the day he dared to go after his little brother.

But, the real truth was, Raphael had not actually lied to his younger brother at all. That was because his solemn vow meant for Donnie had, in fact, been wasted on the evil beast holding the genius turtle captive. Slash's heckling voice coming through the receiver revealed that Donatello was no longer the one on the phone.

"Oh, that's so touching, Raphael. But you really shouldn't be making your brother promises you can't keep. You couldn't protect him before. What makes you think you can protect him now?" Slash's unspoken threat was not lost on Raph, causing his already queasy stomach to twist into additional knots.

Once again at a total loss for what to do, the hotheaded turtle glanced over at Leonardo with terror-filled eyes, hoping his older brother might provide him with some much-needed direction. Alas, Leonardo's broken expression only made things even worse. The leader in blue was supposed to have all the answers, but right now, he looked just as devastated as Raphael felt.

The red-clad turtle was about to growl out of spite when heard his genius brother's voice pierce through the tension building in the lair.

"N – No… S – stop! S – stop, p – please…"

Raphael was forced to listen on in horror as Donnie feebly pleaded in the background, and then, the temperamental brother heard what sounded like a slap. Two more slapping sounds immediately followed and Donnie's pleading abruptly turned into pitiful whimpers.

Hearing his timid, younger brother being struck made something inside of Raphael snap.

"Leave him alone, you sick, twisted – " But the hotheaded turtle wasn't allowed to finish his insult.

"Ah ah ah! You'd better watch your language, Raphael. Poor, impressionable little Michelangelo is listening, after all. Speaking of your little brothers, do you think that Donatello's arm is fully healed yet?" There was so much malice in Slash's tone, it made Raph's heart start to race with panic, knowing what the monster was readying to do.

"Slash, please! D – Don't do this! Please, I'm asking you… Please, don't hurt him!" The begging came without hesitation as Raphael's voice fluctuated up and down with emotions that he did not bother to hide. Not from Slash. Not from his father. Not even from his brothers. For the first time ever, Raph didn't care if they heard him sound weak or plead for compassion. At this point, he would have willingly gotten down on his hands and knees and groveled if it meant sparing Donnie from being tortured by the maniac on the other side of the phone.

Unfortunately, hearing Raphael beg only provided added incentive for Slash.

"So, who do you think this'll hurt more, Raphael? Donatello or _you_?"

A foreboding chill ran up and down Raph's spine as he realized what was about to happen.

Slash was going to hurt Donnie. Even worse, he was going to hurt Donnie _and_ force Raphael to listen to it.

That had been Slash's plan all along; to hurt one of Raphael's brothers just to hurt him.

 _This_ was that monster's revenge…

 _Please, no! No! NO!_

If someone would have dropped a pin at that exact moment, Raph would have heard it loud and clear, even over the sound of his wildly beating heart.

Then, an appalling cracking noise resonated in Raphael's ear slit, followed by the gut-wrenching sound of Donnie screaming in excruciating pain. It felt as though time stood still as the purple-masked turtle's shrill cries echoed throughout the lair.

Upon hearing Donatello's blood curdling screams, Raph's legs gave out from underneath him, no longer able to support his own weight. He did manage to lower himself down onto the couch, which was better than poor Mikey had fared. The moment the youngest turtle had heard Donnie's screams of pain emanating from Raph's phone, he had immediately pressed his hands over his ear slits and fallen to his knees in a semi-upright heap. He rocked himself to and fro, trying to drown the sounds out with his own crying. Leonardo somehow remained in an upright position, but he had to turn his back to his family. The sound of his smartest brother's suffering was overwhelming and the leader was fighting just to keep himself from either bawling like Mikey or tearing the whole lair apart like he knew Raph wanted to do. Master Splinter's eyes narrowed into angry slits and he remained eerily statuesque, tautly gripping the top of his walking staff as he listened to his second youngest child's voice start to go hoarse from screaming.

"Donnie! Donnie! DONNIE!"

Raphael's own voice was starting to give out from the strain as he continued to intermittently shout his little brother's name into the phone.

Never in his life had Raphael felt so helpless as he did right now. His genius brother was being tortured and all he could do was sit there and listen.

Just when Raph thought things couldn't possibly get any worse, he heard a loud, 'thud' sound and Donnie's screams unexpectedly came to a stop.

"Donnie? Donnie! Say something!"

The awful silence now hanging in the room was like a vacuum, sucking all the oxygen out of them. It was hard to inhale or exhale, let alone string a coherent thought together.

Raph was left to agonize over whether Slash had knocked Donnie out cold or done something much, much worse.

Then, Slash's grating voice cut through the sound of Raphael's labored breathing.

"Wow! I really enjoyed hearing your brother scream like that, Raphael. Did you?"

"YOU!" Was all that Raph could manage to get out.

"So, I'm guessing that that hurt Donatello a lot more than it did you, but maybe we need another demonstration, just to be sure. What do you think, Raphael? You wanna hear it again?" Knowing that the red-masked turtle had to be close to his breaking point after listening to his brainy little brother scream like that, Slash made sure his tone was extra goading.

"Y – You! You monster! You spineless coward! I will hunt you down and I will take you out! You hear me? TAKE! YOU! OUT! I'll rip your shell off! You… you – " All at once, Raph's voice failed him. His mouth hung open as if to say something, but the words did not come. His shoulders sank and his arms dropped heavily down onto his lap while he stared wordlessly at the T-phone in his shaking hand, clinging to it as though his very life depended on it. Out of the corner of his eye, Raph could see that Leo was speaking to him, but the only thing the hotheaded turtle could hear was Donnie screaming in agony, over and over and _over_ again.

 _Make it stop! Please, make it stop!_

Raph sealed his eyes tightly shut, trying like mad to block his brother's painful cries out. The sheer magnitude of the rage now coursing through Raphael's veins had caused him to lose any and all ability to function. There was only Donnie's voice and unadulterated fury. Nothing else could get through. That was all he knew. Save for those two things, the rest of his brain had completely shut down.

"Raph? Raph!"

Seeing that Raphael was obviously no longer in any condition to talk, Leo pried the phone from his volatile brother's rigid grip and promptly took over the conversation.

"What do you want, Slash? We'll do whatever you ask. Just don't hurt Donnie again." Ready to put his best negotiating skills to work, Leo spoke as calmly as he could, given the circumstances.

"Ah, Leonardo. I was wondering when you'd finally stick your nose where it didn't belong. What happened to Raphael?"

The grisly voice on the other end of the line made Leo's flesh crawl, serving as a painful reminder of the first night Slash had savagely attacked all of them, but the turtle in blue managed to suppress his anger.

At least for the time being…

"He's still here," the oldest brother answered flatly, determined not to let Slash get under his skin the way that he had gotten under Raphael's. Leonardo was well aware that he couldn't allow his temper to cloud his judgment, but that was extremely difficult when you knew your little brother was in the hands of a homicidal mutant.

"So… how have you been, Fearless?" The normally pleasant small talk was spoken in a highly unpleasant tone, demonstrating Slash's genuine lack of sympathy.

"I want my brother back, Slash! Now, tell me what you want!"

"You know, Leonardo, I like to think I'm a fair enough guy. Raphael… He took pretty good care of me when I was a regular turtle, so I'm gonna return the favor and take _real_ good care of your brother here. Why don't you tell Raphael that I'm gonna keep Donnie boy as a little souvenir of our time together? I always wanted a pet turtle of my own." The condescension in Slash's raspy tone nearly sent Leo over the edge. The leader in blue was beginning to understand why Raphael had lost it. He was also beginning to understand what Raph felt like inside when he was overcome by a fit of rage, because right now, Leo wanted nothing more than to choke the life out of Slash.

 _Stay focused, Leonardo. You have to keep it together for Donnie's sake…_

"If that's what you want, then take me instead. I promise to go with you willingly if you promise to set Donnie free." Based on his family's rather nervous expressions, Leo could see they all had strong reservations about his suggested course of action, but no one actually put a voice to their objections. That was probably because they were all still in a state of shock, having just heard Donnie being physically tortured over the phone.

"Heh! You always were a bit of a drama queen, Leonardo. I never liked that about you. Come to think of it, I never really liked anything about you, period," Slash stated bluntly, not mincing words. There was certainly no love lost between him and Leonardo.

"I assure you, the feeling is mutual, Slash. But that's all the more reason to take me up on my offer. If you hate me that much, wouldn't you rather hurt me instead of Donnie?" At this point, Leo would have done anything to protect Donatello, including sacrificing himself. The blue-clad turtle just wanted to get his already injured little brother away from the monster holding him hostage.

"Tempting, but I already have exactly what I want, Leonardo. Donnie boy will make a much better pet than you ever would. So loyal, so obedient, so deliciously weak. I'll break him as easily as that stupid twig he calls a weapon. And there's nothing you can do to stop me." Every word of Slash's response burned Leo's insides like a highly corrosive acid, but the larger mutant's next comment soon sent the turtle in blue into full-fledged panic mode.

"Time to say goodbye, Leonardo."

Horror seizing hold of him, the fearless leader finally realized that his brother's kidnapper had absolutely no intention of giving Donatello up, and now, Slash was about to end the conversation.

"Please, Slash! Don't do this! Don't hang up! Let's talk about this!" The oldest turtle's grasp on his normally unshakable self-control was slipping away fast and he found himself begging, much like Raphael had done earlier.

Slash was going to disconnect the call and take off with Donnie who knows where. The larger mutant didn't want to bargain with them, nor did he want lure them into a trap or another fight. He just wanted the genius turtle as his prisoner.

Shaking his head from side to side, Leonardo's mouth fell open into a silent 'no' of sorts. Denial rapidly setting in like the deadliest of poisons.

Slash's plot for revenge was to take Donnie away from them, _permanently_. In that malicious beast's evil and depraved mind, he had pieced together that the best way to hurt the brothers was to take one of them out of the equation, and he was absolutely right.

Nothing could have hurt them more than losing one of their own.

 _This can't be happening! This can't be happening…_ Leo thoughts were now bordering on hysterical.

"Oh, I think we're done talking, Leonardo. You know, this really _is_ a flawless plan. Not only do I get to destroy Raphael by hurting Donatello and taking him away, but as an added bonus, I get to hurt you in the process. Plus, I'm sure this'll seriously traumatize that whiny baby brother and rat master of yours, too. This is just too good!" The giddiness in Slash's tone was like a cold slap to the face.

This monster was taking pleasure in their pain.

"Please, Slash! Please, let him go! I'm begging you!" Voice cracking with emotion, Leo blinked around the heavy tears pooling in the corners of his sapphire eyes.

"Not gonna happen, Leonardo. I already have the perfect cage picked out for him and everything. Donatello is _mine_ now and it's time to take him to his new home. I'd let you say goodbye to him, but he's sort of unconscious right now. I think I might've hit him in the head a little too hard. Oops! My bad. I guess I'll have to tell him you guys said 'bye' when – I'm sorry… _if_ he wakes up. Sorry for your loss, Fearless. Give my regards to the rest of the family."

And then, just like that, the line went dead.

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: Ouch! I do believe this just may be one of the most painful cliffhangers I've ever written. Especially since I now have to tell everyone that I might not be posting an update for a while. It will all depend on my real-life schedule and whether I decide to continue with the story or not. I'm really sorry for making everyone wait, but I'm going to take some much-needed time off to see the world. Disney World that is.**_ **XD**

 _ **As always, please take a moment to**_ _ **favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on this story if you want me to continue with it when I get back from my vacation. I would really,**_ _ **really**_ _ **love to know if you are enjoying the story and what you thought about this chapter and that cliffhanger. Your feedback means the world to me.**_

 _ **Thank you very much for reading this and any of my other stories. I am so grateful to all of you. Take care.**_ **;)** _ **CJ**_


	7. Chapter 7 - Get Him Back

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: I've finally returned with a new chapter of 'Slash's Revenge.' So sorry for the extended wait, but real-life (aka vacation) kind of got in the way. Hopefully, everyone's still with me._** **C=**

 ** _A great, big thank you to all my loyal readers and to my new ones as well. I really appreciate everyone's support and the incredibly kind feedback I have received. You are all awesome! I'm extremely humbled that so many people asked me to keep going with this story. I'm also extremely grateful to everyone who nominated this story for the 2017 TMNT Universal Reader's Choice Awards. A bazillion thanks to all of you. The nominations truly mean the world to me._**

 ** _Another great, big thank you to my wonderful beta reader, Joanne N. Grey. She's a true blessing and I adore her. I also want to thank my new creative consultant, Captain Vegeta. She's an amazing friend and author, so I was absolutely delighted to welcome her to the team. I love you two girls with all my heart._**

 ** _I really hope everyone likes the new chapter. I have to warn you, it's an emotional one._**

 ** _Thanks so much for reading._** **;)**

 _ **CJ**_

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – Get Him Back**

"Slash! Slash!" Leonardo continued to shout this name into the phone, as if it would somehow make a difference.

But the fact of the matter remained: the call had been disconnected.

His brother was gone.

While his heart went on shattering into countless, miniscule fragments, the oldest turtle slowly lowered his right hand and stared down at the T-phone resting in his palm. That phone was one of Donatello's many amazing inventions they had all come to rely on. Yet another thing the genius turtle had created to make their lives easier, but now, looking at the device didn't make anything easier. It just made Leo want to get down on his knees and cry.

A bloodthirsty animal had snatched Donnie away from them and there was nothing Leonardo could do.

He had lost him.

The leader in blue held his breath for what seemed like an eternity, still repeating the words 'this can't be happening' in his head. He was starting to break out into a cold sweat from the strain of trying to keep it together.

His family was anxiously waiting for him to say something, but the blue-masked turtle had no idea what to tell them. How could he put words to something so unspeakable?

 _Donnie's gone…_

 _He's gone…_

"L – Leo? What h – happened? What… what did he say?" Oversized blue eyes, bloodshot and puffy from tears that just wouldn't stop, were staring up at the oldest turtle, begging for answers.

Seeing his baby brother, sitting there quivering on the floor, made it almost impossible for Leonardo to maintain his normally steadfast composure.

"What did he say, Leo?" Finally, the hotheaded turtle had found his voice again. Although he still wasn't able to find the strength to get up off the couch just yet.

All the turtle in blue could do in response was shake his head from side to side.

How could he tell them what Slash had said?

" _Time to say goodbye, Leonardo."_

How could he tell them what Slash had planned?

" _Donatello is mine now and it's time to take him to his new home."_

He couldn't. He just couldn't…

" _Sorry for your loss, Fearless. Give my regards to the rest of the family."_

"Leo! _SAY_ something!" Leaping up off the couch, Raphael knotted his shaking hands into white-knuckled fists held tightly against his sides. Unable to contain the storm brewing inside him, the temperamental turtle violently kicked over the crate of VHS tapes, loudly scattering the contents across the floor. He stood over the defenseless crate, chest heaving as he fought to breathe. It felt as though something was squeezing all the oxygen out of his lungs.

Raph's incensed reaction to Leo's refusal to speak somehow made the situation even more agonizing than it already was.

Frightened by his volatile brother's fit of rage, Mikey let out a sad, little whimper while he drew his knees into his plastron and hugged them with all his might. He peered up at Leonardo with his wide, beseeching eyes, orange mask soaked with tears.

"Please, Leo. What happened to Donnie?"

Still, the oldest brother did not answer. He was lost inside his own head, overwhelmed with unimaginable sorrow. His mouth opened and closed several times, like a fish out of water, but the sound of his uneven breathing was all that came out.

Unable to take the dissecting eyes of his family, Leo stared down at Raph's T-phone, wishing it held some kind of solution.

Leonardo had always been a turtle who prided himself on having the answers, but right now, he had none.

He kept hearing Slash's voice, taunting him inside his head…

" _Tempting, but I already have exactly what I want, Leonardo. Donnie boy will make a much better pet than you ever would. So loyal, so obedient, so deliciously weak. I'll break him as easily as that stupid twig he calls a weapon. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."_

A hand landing upon Leonardo's shoulder startled him out of his thoughts and nearly made him jump out of his shell.

"I know it is difficult, my son, but you must tell us what has happened." As Master Splinter gave his oldest boy's shoulder a firm but sympathetic squeeze, he could feel his son shaking in his grasp. Leonardo's normally steely, blue eyes were filled with tears that he was desperately attempting to keep under control. Eyes that refused to look at anything other than the T-phone in his hand.

It pained Master Splinter to see his first-born son in such a vulnerable state. He knew that the burden Leonardo carried was heavy, and sometimes, he worried it might be too much for his child to take on. But Leonardo had chosen to bear it, and as the leader, that meant he had to be stronger than the others during times of great misfortune and tragedy.

Times such as these…

"Leonardo! Please!"

Even with the harsher tone Master Splinter had just employed, his oldest son still did not answer. The frustrated father knitted his white eyebrows together and set his face into a tight frown. He was finding it much harder than normal to maintain his patience. Mostly likely because the sound of his gentlest son's voice screaming out in agony continued to ring inside his brain.

It was evident that Leonardo had been traumatized by whatever conversation had taken place between he and Slash, but his silence was not helping Donatello.

Hearing the growing austerity in his father's voice and seeing the hardness in his expression took Leonardo by surprise, but he supposed he deserved it for keeping them all waiting for so long. The oldest turtle swallowed thickly and readied himself to respond. Never before had the simple act of speaking seemed like such a challenge as it did at this very moment.

Finally, the sound of Leo's voice could be heard, but it was brittle and completely void of its usual confidence. This spoke volumes in and of itself.

"He doesn't… he doesn't have any intention of giving Donnie back." Leonardo paused for a moment in a vain attempt to collect himself before continuing. "He… he said that he's gonna keep Donnie… as a pet… in a… in a cage." Another weighty pause followed. This one much longer than before. The thought of his genius brother being kept inside a cage like some kind of animal was making it hard to breathe, but somehow, Leo forced himself to keep going. "He said that… He said that t – taking him away from us… that's his revenge." By the time the turtle in blue finished, his words were nearly incomprehensible.

No sooner had Leonardo muttered out the word 'revenge' when Raphael unleashed a guttural roar that shook the very ground above them. He then dropped down to his knees and started to slam his fists into the cushions of the couch, over and over again.

"Raphael…"

Consumed by indescribable grief and anger, Raph failed to hear his older brother gasp out his name. The hotheaded turtle just continued to assault the couch, yelling the entire time.

Michelangelo wasn't sure what was more unbearable. Watching Leonardo lose his unwavering self-control or seeing Raphael go totally berserk and beat up the furniture.

Against his better judgment, the youngest turtle began to crawl over to his unhinged brother, whose punches were accelerating to Guinness World Record levels. Mikey really didn't want to get caught in the crossfire of one of Raphael's violent meltdowns, but he trusted his big brother with all his heart. Even if he did slap him upside the head on a regular basis…

 _You always hurt the ones you love, right?_

"Raph." The word was squeaked out in a broken voice while Mikey edged within an arm's length of his highly explosive brother. It probably wasn't the youngest turtle's wisest choice in a long line of foolish decisions, but he needed to snap his big brother out of his tantrum somehow.

At times, Michelangelo was the only one that could get through to Raphael when he was like this.

The turtle in red's shouting tapered off and his fists started to lose their momentum. Whether that was because he had heard Mikey's voice or because he was running out of energy, the youngest turtle did not know. What Mikey did know was that he could hear his older brother's breathing getting short and hitched, almost like someone who was winded after running too hard, too fast.

"It's okay to be scared, Raph. I… I'm scared, too." Mikey reached out a hand and placed it on his second oldest brother's carapace to comfort him.

Normally, if someone accused Raphael of being scared, he'd blow a fuse and adamantly deny the allegation, or quite possibly punch the person in the face, but in this instance, hearing Mikey's mild voice had the exact opposite effect. Raphael's body movements gradually slowed and diminished into normalcy.

Once he had complete control of his senses again, the temperamental turtle turned towards Mikey and looked him straight in the eyes.

"We're gonna get him back, Mikey! If I have search _every_ last inch of this city… We're gonna find him!"

Mikey nodded his head while an endless supply of tears continued to brim in his tragic, bright-blue eyes. Then, without warning, he dove forward and threw his arms around his big brother, smushing his face into Raphael's chest. The older turtle stiffened for a brief moment, but he soon returned the embrace. As hard as this was for him to bear, he couldn't imagine what his sentimental baby brother was going through.

Though touched by the rare open display of affection between Raphael and Michelangelo, Master Splinter recognized that his second youngest child's life was in danger and every moment counted. "My sons, time is of the essence here. We need to focus on finding your brother."

The seriousness of the situation and the resolute tone in Master Splinter's voice was not lost on Raphael. He gently pried his youngest brother off him so that he could concentrate on what was most important. Getting Donatello back!

"Leo, what did you find out when you traced Donnie's T-phone?"

The family was a bit shocked to hear Raph make such a rational inquiry. The red-masked turtle generally didn't like to ask a lot of questions or put much thought into things. Mostly, he just liked to launch verbal and/or physical attacks without considering the consequences. But this was a 'desperate times call for desperate measures' kind of situation and it required a different side of Raphael. At least it did until they located Donnie. Once they found their genius brother, then there would be no stopping the hotheaded turtle from ripping Slash to shreds.

Raphael wasn't the only turtle in the room guilty of not acting at all like himself. Unfortunately, that other turtle's role reversal was much more counterproductive.

That other turtle had already assumed the worst…

"The GPS showed that Donnie's phone was miles away. Slash will be long gone by the time we get there. It'll be too late." The defeat weighing Leonardo's voice down was heartbreaking to hear. The leader in blue was supposed to be the unfailing light that guided them through the darkest of times, not the one dragging them down into the abyss.

"Leonardo, we must not lose hope. Your brother's life is at stake. If there is even a slight chance that we may find a clue to Donatello's whereabouts, then we must go to this location at once."

"He's gone…" Leo breathed out, as if he hadn't even heard what his father had just said. He continued to blankly stare down at Raph's T-phone.

The temperamental turtle pushed himself up to his feet and walked over to his older brother, who currently looked like a little kid who had just been told there was no such thing as Santa Claus.

"Look, Leo… I know it's hard to pull yourself together, man. Believe me, I know." Suddenly reminded of his own multiple breakdowns not so long ago, Raphael had to pause for a moment before continuing on with what was supposed to be his version of a pep-talk. Something he typically sucked at. He just hoped that what he was about to say would be convincing enough to snap Leo out of his funk. "But you've gotta do it for Donnie. He needs us all to stay strong right now! He needs _you_ to be our fearless leader. We _all_ do."

Finally managing to tear his piercing, blue eyes away from Raphael's phone, Leonardo looked up at his red-banded brother with that special spark that had been missing: determination.

This made Raph's lips curl into a proud smirk.

 _There's the Leo I know_ …

"You're right, Raph. We're gonna go out there and get our brother back."

Raph nodded at Leonardo and eagerly punched his fist into the palm of his opposite hand several times, demonstrating his approval.

"Let's do this!"

Normally, this would have been the point where Mikey would exuberantly chime in with one of his many catch phrases, but the youngest turtle remained unusually quiet. His faraway gaze was fixed on the floor, shrouded by a thick layer of tears.

It was obvious that the two oldest turtles weren't the only ones struggling to deal with their immense sorrow.

"Michelangelo, you do not have to come along if you feel you are not prepared for this. Perhaps it would be best for you to remain in the lair, my son." Softening his tone to little more than a whisper, Master Splinter attempted to comfort his most vulnerable child. He could see that his sensitive son was not holding up very well at all, as was to be expected. Michelangelo had always been the closest to Donatello, so it was only natural that he would take his brother's abduction and subsequent torture the hardest. Splinter worried that his youngest son was not emotionally stable enough at this moment to cope with whatever physical condition they might find Donatello in. They knew all too well from that disturbing phone call that the genius turtle had been injured – possibly grievously. Michelangelo's delicate mental state might be further damaged if he were to actually see the wounds inflicted upon his smartest brother.

Grinding his knuckles deep into his eye sockets, Mikey attempted to rub away any evidence of grief in hopes of putting up a brave front for his family. "I – I don't wanna stay here. I'm going with you." The words were not as convincing as he'd meant them to be. They almost sounded more like a question than an actual declaration.

Having just witnessed his baby brother collapse onto the floor from hearing Donnie in pain, Leo was of the same thought process as his father had been. If Mikey were to see what had happened to Donnie to make him scream like that, it could possibly scar him for life.

Leonardo had already failed to protect one brother tonight. He didn't want to fail his youngest sibling as well.

"Mikey, it's okay if you want to stay here. We understand."

"No. It's not okay." The youngest brother's voice was smaller than usual, tentative and quivering with emotion. Sniffling back his sobs, he lifted his gaze up to see his family staring at him with pity.

Pity!

 _They_ were staring at _him_ with pity.

This suddenly gave Mikey a newfound sense of strength.

His heart may have been broken, but his spirit was not.

He didn't want their pity. He just wanted his brother back.

"Donnie needs us! We're wasting time standing around here talking, Leo!"

"Mikey, you don't have to prove anything to us." The oldest brother was quick to give Mikey one more chance to reconsider, but the orange-clad turtle's mind was set.

"I'm coming with, Leo! It's time to teach that big, ugly shellhead that _no one_ messes with our bro! Slash is goin' down! Hard! Now, let's go find Donnie!" With a look of sheer resolve now set in stone on his face, Mikey sidestepped around Leo and headed straight for the Shellraiser, not even bothering to look back. He knew they would follow. He knew they all wanted the same exact thing as him.

 _We're coming, D! Just hang on, bro!_

* * *

"Ya done good, Donnie boy. Real good," Slash's gritty voice cooed out as he squatted down and arrogantly patted his injured victim on the shell. Donatello was still unresponsive, lying face down on the rough surface of the rooftop in the very same spot that Slash had carelessly thrown him after having brutally knocked him out with his huge fist.

Maybe if the scrawny turtle wouldn't have kept screaming at the top of his lungs while Slash had been trying to hear his family's reactions to him being tortured, the larger mutant wouldn't have had to coldcock him like he had. Still, the blood-curdling screams that had emanated from the wounded turtle had been the perfect touch. Slash hadn't been able to see the actual looks on the family's faces as they listened to him physically abuse Donatello, but he could just imagine the mortified expressions that must have been there.

Man, he would have given anything to see their reactions…

Staring down at the battered and unconscious turtle beneath him, Slash's jagged mouth coiled into a crooked sneer, quite pleased with himself and how things had turned out. He certainly couldn't have asked for his plan to turn out better than it had.

"Heh, heh."

Hearing normally impassive Raphael plead with him to show mercy on his brother was priceless.

Absolutely priceless…

" _Slash, please! D – Don't do this! Please, I'm asking you… Please, don't hurt him!"_

And then, getting to hear Raphael's infuriated voice completely give out on him from a mix of rage and agony had been like music to Slash's ear slits…

" _Y – You! You monster! You spineless coward! I will hunt you down and I will take you out! You hear me? TAKE! YOU! OUT! I'll rip your shell off! You… you –"_

But the real icing on the cake had been hearing that goody two-shoes Leonardo beg like the pathetic weakling he really was…

" _Please, Slash! Please, let him go! I'm begging you!"_

That had truly been beyond compare.

Yes, Slash's plan had turned out _way_ better than he could have ever imagined. He had been so fixated on getting his revenge on Raphael, he hadn't even considered how kidnapping one of the brothers would destroy the rest of the family as well. It was just too good to be true.

Pushing himself up into a standing position, Slash skimmed his cold eyes over the rooftop. He saw the lanky turtle's sorry excuse for a weapon lying several feet away from the communication device he had just used to torment Donatello's family. The same phone that the supposedly smartest turtle had foolishly attempted to contact his brothers with earlier.

Slash was quite familiar with the device, having had watched the red-masked ninja use his own phone hundreds of times back in the days when Slash had still been a regular turtle, perched upon Raphael's shoulder. They had all referred to the contraptions as 'T-phones.' Slash knew that those 'T-phones' had been created by Donatello himself and the brainy turtle had built some sort of tracking mechanism into them. Slash had seen the brothers use the phones for such purposes on multiple occasions.

That meant that Donatello's three brothers would no doubt be on their way, seeking out their own form of vengeance. This left Slash limited time to prepare for the next phase of his plan. Part of that phase involved the smaller turtle's phone. Slash was going to use the device to send the brothers a little message.

The turtle-shell-shaped mechanism looked microscopic in Slash's massive hand. He could have easily crushed it in his grip, but he had other uses for it. He approached Donatello's near-motionless body again and used his foot to force the purple-masked turtle up onto his side. Even with the rough treatment he was receiving, Donatello didn't show any signs of waking. Not even when Slash bent down and grabbed him by the neck, preparing him for what was going to happen next. As Slash jostled Donatello around and got everything into place, the injured turtle's arm flopped down at an odd angle, causing him to whimper in pain, but his eyes remained sealed shut. He was completely oblivious to what was happening around him, which made things far easier for the bigger turtle.

Once Slash had Donatello ready, he stood back up and put the finishing touches on his special message for the brainy turtle's brothers.

 _Picture-perfect!_

"It's time to take you home now, Donatello. Your brothers will come looking for you soon and they'll want to take you away from me. We can't have that, can we? After all, you're _my_ property now." Once again, Slash patted Donatello on the shell mockingly, but the smaller mutant remained unresponsive. Slash was starting to worry that he may have accidentally broken his new, little toy, which would have been rather disappointing, considering he had just gotten him and all.

"Ah, well."

Right now, it didn't much matter whether or not Donatello survived. The only thing that Slash really should have been focusing on was his plan.

Time was getting away from him and there was still much to be done.

Carelessly tossing the wounded turtle's phone aside, Slash crouched down to throw Donatello's limp form over his shoulder. The spindly turtle groaned in disapproval of the movement, but Slash heard no further protest from the genius, indicating that he was still out of it.

Taking one last look at the rooftop, if only for nostalgia's sake, Slash raced off into the night. He gracelessly hurdled from building to building, hauling his somewhat awkward cargo back to his new place. A place where he was sure Donatello's family could never find them.

As Slash drew nearer to his destination, he started to increase his momentum. That was because he knew that he had to pick up the pace if he wanted to get back in time to see the brothers' reactions.

And he _**so**_ wanted to see the brothers' reactions.

Truth be told, he couldn't wait…

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes: Slash is pure evil in this story. Have I already mentioned that? Because I probably should have by now.**_

 _ **Poor Donnie.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading, everyone! As always, please take a moment or two to**_ _ **favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on this story. I would absolutely love the feedback and I'm chomping at the bit to know what you think of the chapter.**_ **;)** _ **CJ**_

 _ **Special note: Thank you very,**_ _ **very**_ _ **much to everyone who checked out the new chapter of 'Lost in the Fight.' I really appreciate all the super nice comments I received!**_ **_*hugs*_ {B**


	8. Chapter 8 - Breaking Point

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: Chapter 8 of 'Slash's Revenge' is here and this one is a bit angsty. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everyone enjoys it._**

 ** _Thank you so much to all my wonderful readers, followers, and friends. I'm totally blown away by the fact that_** **_I received my 200th review for this story today. Oh my gosh! I'm so very grateful for the amazing feedback you've all given me. Thank you with all my heart! Also, I want to thank everyone who nominated and voted for my stories in the 2017 TMNT Universal Reader's Choice Awards. It is such an incredible honor to be among the many talented nominees and winners. {B_**

 ** _Shout outs to my creative consultant, Captain Vegeta, and my beta reader, Joanne N. Grey. These two girls are so awesome, there are just no words to describe how much I adore them. Thank you both to infinity and back. ILY!_**

 ** _Okay, let's do this! Thanks for reading._** **;)** _ **CJ**_

* * *

 **Chapter 8 – Breaking Point**

It was a proven fact that the Shellraiser's top speed was about one hundred twenty-five miles per hour, which was nothing to scoff at considering it was a revamped, old subway car. But as truly impressive as that speed was, the vehicle was still going around seventy-five miles per hour too slow for Leonardo's liking right now.

Normally, the sensible leader practiced safe driving skills when behind the wheel of his genius brother's most cherished invention. In fact, Leo's cautious nature was the main reason why Donatello had chosen his oldest brother as the designated driver of the Shellraiser in the first place…

" _Now, I've assigned everyone to a station based on your individual skill sets. I can't drive, because my station's in the back. So…"_

" _DRIVER!"_

" _Leo drives."_

" _Why?"_

" _He's least likely to hit something just for fun."_

" _True…"_

Had the brainy turtle been there at this very moment to witness Leonardo's suddenly reckless behavior, he would've revoked the leader's driving privileges, _permanently_. In his haste to get to the location of his second youngest brother's T-phone, Leo had pretty much thrown all caution to the wind. With the exception of a few hairpin turns that required him to do some last-second braking in order to keep the Shellraiser upright, Leonardo had been going full throttle the entire time. Something Donatello most certainly would've never approved of. However, the rest of Leonardo's family didn't seem to have any objections to him driving like a maniac, therefore, he continued to do so until they neared the location of Donatello's phone. Once they were within about a hundred feet of where the GPS indicated Donnie's T-phone was, Leo pulled the Shellraiser to a screeching halt, parking it in an inconspicuous alleyway to keep from arousing any additional suspicion from humans.

The family immediately climbed out of the Shellraiser and commenced searching the area, with Leo leading the way, as to be expected. He had his T-phone held out in front of him like it was a compass, squinting down at the tiny coordinates on the display.

"According to the GPS, his phone is somewhere in this vicinity."

Upon hearing Leo's announcement, Raph whipped out his own T-phone and fired off a call to his genius brother, figuring it was the best way to pinpoint the phone's exact whereabouts.

Then, they all listened attentively.

With his sensitive hearing, it was no surprise that Master Splinter was the first to detect the familiar ringtone of Donatello's phone.

"I can hear it, my sons! It is coming from above." Before even finishing his second sentence, Master Splinter was already effortlessly scaling up a nearby fire escape to make his way to the rooftop. An instant later, his three sons were also climbing up the side of the building, anxiously following their father as well as the sound of the Donnie's T-phone.

They found the device lying abandoned in the middle of the rooftop, just a few feet away from the genius turtle's discarded bo-staff. Other than those two items, the space was completely empty.

Much to their despair, Donatello was nowhere to be seen.

Mikey bent down and scooped up his immediate older brother's T-phone, clasping it close his heart, as if holding something of Donnie's might bring him some form of comfort.

No such luck…

"Donnie! Donnie!" Moving along the edge of the building, Leonardo searched for any signs of his missing brother. The rest of the family started to comb the rooftop as well, not really sure what else to do. Up until this point, they had all been clinging to the small speck of hope that Donatello would still be with his phone.

That little bit of hope was now draining out them like water through a sieve.

Soon after they began exploring the rooftop, Mikey's blue eyes widened in sudden recognition.

"R – Raph… Isn't this the same roof that we found – " The youngest turtle stopped mid-question when he saw that his hotheaded brother had already come to the same unnerving realization. Mikey could tell this by the way his big brother was glaring at the three distinct gouges carved deep into the metal roof vent.

It was the exact same rooftop where they had found Donnie lying unconscious the night of Spike's transformation.

Was it just a freaky coincidence or had Slash planned _this_?

Was he really _that_ vindictive?

From his current vantage point, Mikey could see Raphael was taking the discovery even worse than he had. The turtle in orange thought for sure his vile-tempered brother was going to burst into flames at any second.

Fortunately, Master Splinter's voice distracted Raph from spontaneously combusting.

"Leonardo." Just a little way from where Donatello's bo-staff laid stock-still, Master Splinter stopped and stared down at the surface of the rooftop with a clearly shaken expression. An expression the boys rarely saw from their father.

Upon hearing Master Splinter gasp out his name, the oldest turtle felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach, like his insides had turned to stone. Even worse was seeing the distraught look on his father's face. It made Leonardo's chest tighten with indescribable dread. He wasn't sure just how much more of this he could take…

The leader approached Master Splinter with hesitant footsteps, as did his two brothers; scared of what they were about to see.

It didn't take them long to figure out why their father was so noticeably upset.

There, on the surface of the rooftop, was what appeared to be a significant amount of blood.

As soon as Michelangelo saw the deep, crimson stain, he whimpered and walked away, not emotionally equipped to deal with the reality that that was his closest brother's blood.

Leonardo also turned away, as if to gather his composure.

Raphael, on the other hand, kept his gloomy eyes fixed on the pool of blood, despite his growing agony inside. The hotheaded turtle felt the need to stare at the evidence of his younger brother's pain, as though he didn't deserve the reprieve that looking away could possibly bring. He owed Donatello that much.

As he continued to gaze down at the gruesome bloodstain, Raph could hear his last conversation with Donnie ringing inside his brain…

" _Has he hurt you?"_

" _Y – Yes."_

" _How bad, Donnie?"_

" _R – Raph… you d – don't – "_

" _How bad, Donatello?!"_

"' _B – Bleeding p – prof – fusely b – bad."_

It had been hard enough hearing those words, but actually seeing the proof brought Raphael ever closer to his breaking point.

"This is all my fault. That monster has our brother and it's all because of me." Shoulders sinking right along with his heart, Raph continued to gaze down at the rooftop through a thick layer of tears. He would have given anything to take Donnie's place right now. The thought of his genius brother out there somewhere, hurt, terrified and alone, made the hotheaded turtle want to scream.

For several awkward moments, Leonardo found himself hopelessly tongue-tied, torn between a seemingly infinite number of emotions. He sealed his eyes shut, trying to steady himself before he said or did something he would most certainly regret. A part of him wanted to chew Raph's shell out for what he had done, while another part of him wanted to bypass the lecture altogether and simply throttle his red-masked brother without mercy. Leonardo had heard the awful things his hotheaded brother had said to Donnie to make him leave the lair. He had seen the broken look on Donnie's face before he had run off. He had been forced to listen to the blood-curdling screams of his second youngest brother. All because of Raphael's hurtful words…

" _All you ever do is put everyone in danger, Donnie! You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch! You're the reason Spike's gone! I lost my best friend because of you! It was all your fault! If you weren't such a walking disaster, he'd still be here!"_

All because Raphael couldn't control his temper…

How could Leo _not_ blame his hotheaded brother for what had happened?

But there was another part of Leonardo that could see just how much Raph was suffering over what he had done. The remorse was hurting the red-masked turtle far more than any unkind words or punches the leader could have thrown at him.

Ultimately, Leo chose to try to spare his temperamental brother any further torment. Not necessarily for Raph's sake, but for Donnie's. Leonardo needed Raphael's help if they had any chance of finding their missing brother.

"This isn't your fault, Raph." The turtle in blue just hoped that the actual words sounded far more convincing than what he was feeling inside.

In no mood to listen to his older brother attempt to put a positive spin on what had happened, Raphael's response came out in a bitter growl. "Don't give me that sanctimonious crap, Leo! You know just as well as I do that Donnie would've never gone off on his own if I hadn't lost my temper and yelled at him!"

"Okay, I'm not gonna lie to you. Yes, you were the reason for Donnie going topside alone," Leo admitted, trying like shell to keep any iota of anger from his words as he spoke. "But Slash is out for revenge and he obviously had his sights set on our brother from the get-go. You and I both know Donnie would've eventually gone off on his own at some point, whether you yelled at him or not. It was only a matter of time before that monster went after him." Once he finished with what he had to say, Leonardo turned around and looked Raphael square in the eyes, if only to keep his own eyes averted from the revolting sight of his little brother's blood staining the rooftop.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better, Fearless? Because it doesn't! That psycho took our brother to get back at me! That blood… _Donnie's_ blood… is on _my_ hands, Leo!" Needlessly pointing towards the stained rooftop at his feet, the hotheaded turtle's body started to shake. The intense rage and immense sorrow were getting to be too much.

"Raphael, I understand the burden that you are carrying inside, but perhaps it would be best to focus your energy on what is truly important here: finding your brother. There will be time for penance once we have located Donatello." The tone of Master Splinter's voice was terse, maybe even verging on bitter. He was beginning to feel as though his two oldest sons had lost sight of the bigger picture.

"With all due respect, Sensei, I don't think you could possibly understand what I'm feeling right now." Casting his gaze away from his father's judging eyes, Raphael's own eyes once again landed on the three gashes left in the roof vent. Seeing them instantly reminded him of something Slash had said during that awful phone call…

" _Me and Donnie boy had a little unfinished business to take care of. Isn't that right, Donatello?"_

Raphael couldn't help but wonder just how long Slash had been plotting this. Had that monster been stalking them for the past three weeks?

Was everything that had happened so far part of some sick, twisted plan?

"My son, you are not – " Master Splinter's words were abruptly cut off by his youngest child's high-pitched voice.

"Dude!" When they all turned to look at Mikey, he was holding Donnie's T-phone out as far away from himself as possible. His once-wide eyes were screwed tightly shut, like he was suddenly terrified of the object clutched in his hand.

"What is it, Mikey?" The first one to make it over to Michelangelo's side, Leonardo tried to console his youngest brother, only to have his efforts rejected. Mikey immediately shoved the T-phone into Leo's plastron, desperately trying to rid himself of the device as though it was pure evil. This caused the oldest turtle's heart to hammer inside his rib cage. He was quick to snatch the phone from his petrified baby brother's hand; afraid Mikey was going to drop it.

A moment later, Master Splinter was beside Michelangelo, holding his son in his arms in a vain attempt to calm him. He guided his youngest child to the opposite side of the rooftop, away from where Leonardo stood. The blue-masked ninja was now staring down at the phone in utter horror, informing Master Splinter that he was better off not seeing what was on the small device. He shuddered to think what could have gotten his children so visibly rattled.

While Master Splinter continued to comfort Mikey, Raphael approached Leonardo, moving at a slow, tentative pace. Whatever was on that phone had made their baby brother even more of a basket case than normal, and Leo didn't look a whole lot better.

Drawing in a rickety breath, Raph ceased his forward momentum just inches away from where Leo stood. The red-masked ninja swallowed nervously before peering down at Donnie's T-phone still clenched in the oldest turtle's hand.

"Is that… Is that a –" Raph started, but he had to stop halfway through his sentence to keep himself from totally losing control.

Unable to look at the appalling image a second longer, Leonardo shifted his teary eyes away, which only confirmed Raphael's suspicions.

The hotheaded turtle yanked the phone out of his older brother's trembling grip and stared down at the picture that had been set as Donnie's wallpaper. The background image was slightly blurry, but it was clear enough to make Raph's skin crawl.

There on the screen was a picture of the genius turtle, lying on what was presumably the same roof that they were standing on. Donnie looked to be unconscious and badly beaten. But as appalling as it was for Raph to see that his most peaceful brother had been viciously attacked, it wasn't what ultimately sent the red-clad turtle over the edge. The object latched around Donnie's neck did.

Rushing to the ledge of the rooftop, Raph screamed out one word into the night, over and over again, until his voice was raw and hoarse.

"Slash! SLASH! **SLASH**!"

* * *

From four buildings over, an enormous figure loomed in the shadows, spying on the three turtles and their rat master while they frantically searched the rooftop for their missing loved one.

They were never going to find him.

A lopsided smile crept across Slash's face as he watched on with eager anticipation. The youngest brother had just bent down to pick up Donatello's T-phone. The very phone that Slash had purposely left behind for them to find. Always a bit of a scatterbrain, Michelangelo failed to notice what Slash had placed on the device right away, but the largest turtle knew it was just a matter of time before someone thought to check the phone on the off-chance Donatello had left some sort of clue behind.

They would find no such thing. Instead, they would come across the little message Slash had made especially for them.

He couldn't wait to see their reactions.

 _This is gonna be too good…_

Presently, the family was so caught up in their futile search efforts, they had no interest in the phone, but Slash was confident one of them would eventually discover his special message. Then, they would surely come undone, all thanks to him.

While he continued to watch them from afar, he made sure to exercise more caution than normal. That was partly because he knew how angry he had made the family. That anger made them much more dangerous than before. But it was also partly because the brothers had brought their 'father' along. Slash never in a million years thought that the old rat would venture up to the surface to aid in the search. During his time spent with the Hamato clan, Slash had noticed it was very rare for the former human, now rodent to leave their lair, even during times when his sons were in grave peril. Slash had always assumed the turtles' sensei suffered from some sort of phobia or disorder.

The rat's presence was something the largest mutant had not factored into his plan. Hence, the reason Slash was staying further away than he usually did when stalking the brothers. While the three smaller turtles didn't intimidate him in the least, their father certainly did. Slash knew that Splinter was a grand master of Ninjutsu. He also knew that the rat had extremely heightened senses. He had seen how Splinter could take the brothers down with practiced ease during their constant training sessions. It was as though Splinter didn't even have to put any effort into it. In other words, the rat was definitely not someone Slash wanted to tangle with.

The giant turtle focused his attention back on the family, making sure to use the darkest shadows to conceal himself. He could see that the four of them had stopped to gather around something they had found on the rooftop.

 _Hmm… What do we have here?_

When the little one walked away from the group like a coward, Slash knew they had found the bloodstain the brainy turtle had so conveniently left behind.

Another sinister smile made its way across Slash's face as he continued to observe the family's varied responses. From what he could see, it looked as if Raphael's initial reaction was sadness, but the red-masked turtle was now going off about something to Leonardo, waving his hands around as he did so. Raphael looked to be quite upset about something. Perhaps the sight of his brainy brother's blood was a little too much for him to handle.

 _Oh, poor Raphael…_ Slash internally scoffed without even a smidgen of sympathy. As far as he was concerned, Raphael deserved to suffer for what he had done to him. He deserved to suffer in the worst way possible. Slash zeroed in a glare on his former master, taking endless gratification in watching the smaller turtle's distress. The enormous mutant couldn't help but reflect back to one of the last conversations he and Raphael had had before the turtle in red had betrayed him…

" _Why? Why are you doing this?"_

" _The others hold you back. Limit your potential. Ya don't need 'em. Just like you said."_

" _No! They're my brothers. I never wanted this."_

" _There's no turning back now."_

" _Stop! I won't let you hurt 'em!"_

" _I'm not here to fight you!"_

" _But I wanna fight you! You're not Spike! You're some kind of warped monster! A deranged, hideous freak!"_

For as long as he could remember, Slash had been nothing but loyal to Raphael and Raphael had repaid him by calling him a warped monster and a deranged, hideous freak. Then, Raphael had gone and chosen his useless brothers over him…

" _I'd rather be like my brothers than you any day."_

Even now, Slash's insides burned with hatred for his former 'caretaker.' He had once thought that he and Raphael shared a bond deeper than brotherhood. He had mistakenly thought that he and Raphael were one and the same, but the turtle in red had turned on him and Slash despised him for it…

" _We are nothing alike! You're pure evil!"_

The words still made Slash's blood boil.

Well, Slash intended to show Raphael just what an evil, warped, deranged monster he could truly be. The hotheaded brother would pay dearly for what he had done, as would poor little Donatello. The genius turtle was about to learn the hard way exactly what monstrosities Slash was capable of and Raphael would never be able to forgive himself for it. The guilt over losing one of his precious brothers would no doubt destroy him.

 _Heh_. _It'll be the ultimate revenge._

Keeping his seething eyes glued to the red-masked ninja, Slash could see that Raphael was now pointing at the surface of the roof. The rat master then began to speak, probably offering up some words of wisdom like he always did whenever one of them was upset about something. The old rodent could be as long-winded as the 'fearless' leader. The two of them were always handing out advice no one actually wanted or needed…

It was at this point, Slash suddenly heard Michelangelo cry out like he was in terrible pain. That was when Slash knew they had at long last found his message.

 _It's about freakin' time!_

Upon hearing the youngest one start blubbering, the almighty Leonardo was instantly at his baby brother's side, followed by the rat, and then, Raphael. Pathetic, little Michelangelo appeared to be completely inconsolable, which brought yet another smile to Slash's face. He then watched Leonardo's response to the message and it was divine. Fearless wasn't so fearless after all. It looked as though he was going to drop to his knees and cry like a girl.

Slash would've paid good money to see that…

Finally, it was Raphael's turn to look at what was on the purple-masked turtle's phone.

The reaction was exactly what Slash had been hoping for. So much rage. So much hate. So much grief. Then, it got even better when Raphael charged to the edge of the roof and started screaming out Slash's name, again and again, for all the world to hear.

Slash listened on with unrepressed amusement as Raphael's voice started to go out on him for the second time that night. And still, even without a voice, the red-clad turtle was trying to yell out his name.

When Raphael's voice was all but gone, the old rat stepped towards him, presumably to console his unhinged son. Before long, Splinter's scrutinizing eyes were scanning the surrounding rooftops, as if he suspected that someone was out there, watching them.

This was Slash's cue to quit while he was ahead. After all, he had gotten precisely what he had come for. The chance to witness Raphael's emotional downfall was reward enough.

Slash's towering figure retracted deeper into the cover of the shadows, letting them swallow him whole. Just as the rat's eyes veered towards the rooftop where Slash had been posted at, the massive reptile ducked behind a roof vent. Had he lingered around a few seconds longer, the old rat would have spotted him.

It had been a little too close for Slash's comfort. With the highly-trained Ninjutsu master out hunting for him, the immense mutant turtle decided it would probably be best if he laid low for a few days… maybe longer. Either way, it was definitely time to call it a night.

After all, he needed to start working on 'house _breaking_ ' his new pet…

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes: Uh-oh. No good will come of this…**_

 _ **Please take a moment to**_ _ **favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on this story. It's always good to know if people are still reading and if they still like the story. Oh, and it's my birthday today, so please try to refrain from leaving me any flames on this chapter for at least 24 hours. It would be nice to not get my feelings hurt on my special day. I'm just saying…**_ **XD**

 _ **Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate it far more than words can convey.**_ **;)** _ **CJ**_

 _ ***Special Note: I just wanted to thank everyone who checked out my latest TMNT Shell Shot, 'Promises Broken.' I really, really appreciate it.**_


	9. Chapter 9 - Life in Captivity

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: I'm back with chapter 9 of 'Slash's Revenge' and it's finally a Donatello chapter. Warning: this one's a bit intense._**

 ** _Humongous thanks to my creative consultant, Captain Vegeta, my beta reader, Joanne N. Grey, and to everyone who has read this or any of my other stories. I am so very grateful to all of you for your tremendous kindness and support._**

 ** _I sure hope everybody likes the chapter. Thanks for reading._** **;)** _ **CJ**_

* * *

 **Chapter 9 – Life in Captivity**

At first, the only thing Donatello could register was the inconceivable pain washing over him like millions of jagged shards of glass. It racked every nerve in his body, preventing him from focusing on anything other than his agony. He wasn't even sure how much time had elapsed while he was in this seemingly impenetrable state. It could have been hours or it could have just as soon been mere minutes for all he knew.

Gradually, his overwrought mind began to discern comprehensible thoughts amidst the fog he was in. In a rather small twist of irony, the first thought he could focus on was the pounding in his head. It wasn't much, but at least it meant his brain was functional enough to process something. Even if that something was just distinguishing one pain from the many others inundating him.

 _Progress is progress..._

His skull was unremittingly thrumming in tempo with his heartbeat and his natural instinct was to wrap his hands around his head, but as soon as he tried to move his left arm, he was once again in sheer agony. A tight grimace pulled across his lips as pain ripped through him like the sharpest of blades, momentarily stealing his breath away and making him forget all about his headache.

Once the discomfort finally diminished to a more tolerable level, he decided his best course of action would be to keep his left arm immobilized as much as he could. For several prolonged moments, he just laid there, trying to get his breathing under control again. His muddled thoughts began to turn into a series of questions, none of which he would be able to answer if he didn't open his eyes.

Though defiant at first, his swollen eyelids eventually parted ways and his weary, reddish-brown orbs slowly adjusted to the dim lighting of the room.

What he discovered soon had him wishing he'd just kept his eyes closed...

With his vision now restored to near-normal levels, it didn't take him long to figure out why he was so incredibly uncomfortable. The appalling realization struck fear into his heart like a bolt of lightning and his breath started to come out in panicked gasps.

He was locked in a cage!

A cage!

Donatello tried to push himself into a sitting position with his less injured arm, but the barred enclosure didn't allow him the freedom to sit completely upright. It was several inches too short in height and he wound up scraping the top of his carapace against the highest part of the cage. This gave him an instant case of claustrophobia. Something he normally didn't suffer from, but it wasn't like he had spent a lot of time being cooped up in a cage before.

Luckily, the metal enclosure was slightly wider than it was tall, so it did give him a little bit of wiggle room, but not nearly enough for his liking.

All of a sudden, Donatello had a newfound appreciation for how Timothy must have felt inside his containment unit.

 _Perhaps this is karma coming back to slap me in the face_ , Donnie thought to himself as he peered out from behind the bars of the 'containment unit' _he_ was currently trapped in.

The genius turtle's throat felt as though it was closing up on him, so he gulped down a mouthful of air. It was then that he noticed something was pressing against his neck, making even the simple act of swallowing unpleasant. He nervously reached his fingertips towards his throat and was instantly appalled by what he found. Where he should have felt skin, there was a thick ring of metal digging into his flesh.

The sudden awareness that he had been fitted with a collar filled him with a mixture of humiliation and dread.

Bound and determined to remove the offensive object from around his neck, Donnie tried to work his fingers underneath the steel band to pry it off, but the collar was fastened too tightly against his skin for him to get a good hold of it. He then tried tugging on the heavy O-ring attached to the front of the collar, hoping to somehow pull it loose. Just the thought of what the ring was intended for made him yank even harder – to the point that it hurt – but the restrictive object encircling his neck was locked securely in place.

Attempting to steady his now somewhat irregular breathing, Donnie sucked in the deepest inhale he could. He was doing his best not to freak out over the fact that he was wearing a collar that seemed to be getting tighter by the second _,_ not to mention he was being kept in cage like he was some kind of animal.

 _Well, technically, I guess I am some kind of animal_...

In spite of the deplorable circumstances he was in, Donatello managed to find amusement in his own snarky thought, but only for a fleeting moment. His mood immediately turned somber once again when his eyes wandered back to the cage he was confined to.

Withdrawing his hand away from his neck, he wrapped his fingers tightly around one of the front bars of the cage. Half a second later, he was shaking the door of his 'pen' with all his might, checking it for durability. The bar barely budged, informing him that his prison cell was good and solid. That meant he was going to have use brains rather than brawn to get out of this, which was probably for the best, since he was already down two limbs at this point...

Gaze descending to his injured leg, Donatello nearly passed out from the sight. While the wound was no longer bleeding profusely, the blood flow was still heavy enough to give cause for alarm. On top of that, he could see the substantial damage that the mace spikes had done to the skin and underlying muscles and tissues of his thigh. It was a mangled, ugly mess; far more gruesome to look at than the injury to his arm.

Feeling the strong need to cover up his wounded leg, Donatello reached for his mask only to realize it wasn't there. Much to his horror, all his gear had been removed, leaving him with nothing to wrap around the gaping wound on his thigh. It was just another item to add to his ever-growing list of things to worry about. His leg injury required medical treatment or it would surely get infected – if it wasn't already. But something told him he'd have a tough time finding a fresh supply of antibiotics in this place.

Whatever _this_ place was...

In all honesty, the genius turtle had been so preoccupied with his wounds and the whole 'cage and collar' thing, he hadn't even bothered to check if he recognized where he was. Luckily, Master Splinter wasn't there or he would have gone off about the importance of _always_ being sharp-eyed and vigilant. In the back of his head, Donatello could just hear his father's unwavering voice telling him that 'a true ninja needs to be aware of his surroundings at all times.'

Of course, had Master Splinter actually been there, Donnie wouldn't be locked inside a cage, rendering the point rather moot.

 _In the meantime, you still don't have a clue where you are, Genius_!

Pushing himself closer to the door of his cage, Donatello peered through the thick, metal bars. Even with his blurred vision and the scant moonlight illuminating the space, it didn't take him long to conclude that he was in an abandoned apartment. A really tiny abandoned apartment. He guessed it couldn't have been much more than three hundred square feet, tops, and that was assuming there was at least one bedroom and bathroom in the place. He couldn't actually see any doors from where he was at, but there obviously had to be an entrance somewhere.

There were only two windows in his field of vision. One on each side of him, not too far from where he was sitting. Both windows were covered by a pair of threadbare curtains that served no actual purpose anymore. They were neither functional nor decorative.

Off to his left, he could see a small kitchen area. It was devoid of any appliances, but there were a couple short rows of dilapidated cabinets and a tarnished faucet jutting up from the countertop.

Finally, Donnie glanced around the immediate vicinity he was in and deduced that it was the living room of the apartment. He based this conclusion off the only visible pieces of furniture in the space: a nasty-looking floral sofa and a wooden chair that had seen far, far better days.

Not surprisingly, Slash appeared to have no sense of interior design. But then again, why would he? He had hung out with Raphael most of his life. It was no wonder Slash had turned out the way he –

 _SLASH!_

Just the thought of the giant mutant suddenly sparked terror inside of Donnie. The brainy turtle did a quick onceover of the apartment and was relieved to discover he appeared to be the only one there. That is, unless Slash was inside the theoretical bedroom or bathroom that Donnie was unable to see from his current vantage point.

 _Way to think positive, Donatello_...

Whether Slash was in the apartment or not, Donnie knew that he needed to get out of there as soon as turtley possible, but that would be no easy task. Not with a possible broken or dislocated shoulder and a bum leg. Still, he wasn't about to just sit there and wait for Slash to come finish him off. That would be suicide.

The wounded turtle looked around his cage for any potential weak spots. Searching for a chink in the armor, so to speak. Anything that might provide him with an opportunity to escape. He noticed that the four-sided, metal enclosure was somehow affixed to the wall, presumably to prevent him from moving his little prison around. He also noticed that the padlock keeping the cage shut was rather corroded.

He was about to inspect the lock closer when there came the creaking sound of a door being opened and closed. It sent a shudder up and down Donatello's spine.

Then, he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching.

 _Big_ footsteps.

Too big to be anyone from his immediate family.

The wounded turtle awkwardly scrambled to the back of the cage, pressing his carapace up against the wall his prison was connected to. Carefully using his good arm and leg to curl into a ball, he tried to make himself as small as possible, as if that might somehow protect him from whoever was approaching.

"Hey-ya, Donnie boy. I see you've finally decided to wake up." Slash strolled into the room and stopped for a moment to rattle the side of the smaller turtle's cage just for fun.

Donatello resentfully turned his head away and tightened his hold around himself as best he could, making sure to avoid jostling his injured arm and leg too much. The hasty movement towards the back of his cage had his injuries screaming out in pain once again. His left arm was dangling at his side at an odd angle, essentially useless. His wounded leg was equally worthless, and somehow, this injury hurt even more than his arm.

"Awwww! What's the matter, Donatello? Are you mad at me?"

The only reaction Slash got out of Donnie was a terse snort of disgust. The caged turtle's head remained turned to the side, so as to avoid eye contact with the bigger mutant.

An evil sneer passed over Slash's features, but Donatello couldn't see it.

"Your family's out there looking for you, you know? Even the old rat dragged himself out of the sewers to search for ya."

With that said, Donnie peered up and fixed a defiant glare on Slash.

"My family will hunt you down and make you regret the day you met them!" The personal guarantee held far more brazenness than Slash had expected from the weakest turtle.

Perhaps Donatello wasn't as gutless as Slash had originally thought...

"Oh, I already do. Trust me. Ever since my transformation, I've done nothing but _loath_ the day I met you and your family." Latching his thick fingers around the top of Donatello's cage, Slash hovered his massive upper body just a few feet above his prisoner and reveled in watching the smaller turtle squirm. The wounded creature was currently cowering in fear while hunched over to keep his head clear of the bars above him.

"Why? We never did anything to hurt you!" Donnie internally cringed as soon as he said those words, keeping all his fingers and toes crossed that Slash didn't recall the so-called genius nearly blowing him up the day of his mutation. Donnie was also holding out hope that Slash didn't remember the time Mikey had taken the unmutated pet turtle (aka Spike) out of Raph's room to play with him and wound up losing him...

How could Donnie forget that epic disaster?

 _It's no wonder the guy holds a grudge against us_...

When Slash didn't dispute Donnie's rather inaccurate statement, the brainy turtle quickly went on with the rest of what he had been planning to say. "And Raph was nothing but kind to you! Heck, he was always a lot nicer to you than he ever was to any of us! He took you in and cared for you! Why would you hate him so much?"

"Because Raphael betrayed me! That's why! He and I could've been the ultimate team, but he chose you over me! _You_!"

"That's what this is all about? You're jealous because Raph picked us?" The revelation seemed almost comical to the smartest turtle.

 _Sort of gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'green with envy,'_ Donnie mentally quipped and he internalized a smirk that would have surely gotten him creamed if he would have actually allowed the expression to materialize on his face.

"I'm _**not** _jealous!" Evidently not as amused as Donatello had been by the 'jealous' comment, Slash's chest started to heave with rage.

 _And there we have it_...

 _The green-eyed monster rears its ugly head_...

This time, Donnie couldn't stop a small smirk from forming. He hadn't even realized that he had done it until he saw the fury burning in Slash's eyes.

 _Uh-oh_...

"You think this is funny? Is this some kind of joke to you?" Slash seethed, gripping the top of the cage so tightly, Donnie thought for sure the beast was going to peel it open like an overripe banana. It was either that or he was going to rip the whole cage right off the wall.

All of a sudden, Donnie no longer felt a strong desire to break out of his cramped quarters. For the time being, he felt much safer inside than out.

As though he had tapped directly into Donatello's thoughts, Slash stood upright and reached for something in his belt.

"Wh – What are y – you d – doing?" The words came out stuttered when Donatello saw Slash pull out a key and hold it up in front of him, flashing the genius turtle a smirk of his own.

"It's time to begin your training, Donnie boy." Before he even finished his sentence, Slash was already bending down to open the cage door.

Panic overrode every one of Donatello's senses, and despite the fact that his eyes were practically swollen shut, they both grew wide with fear. Slash's huge hands were coming right for him and he had nowhere to go. His back was literally already against the wall.

"N – No! S – Stay away from me!" Even with Donatello kicking like mad with his good leg, Slash easily grabbed the smaller turtle by the ankles and forcibly heaved him out of the cage. Donnie yelped in pain when Slash pulled on his injured leg, but it did absolutely nothing to deter the bigger mutant. The genius was then callously thrown down into the middle of the living room, landing hard on his injured left arm. He cried out in agony and writhed about on the marred, wood floor until Slash slammed his foot into the wounded turtle's ribcage.

"Heh, heh! Not so funny anymore, is it?"

Donnie curled up into a fetal position, clutching his side and desperately panting to reclaim the air that had just been knocked out of his lungs courtesy of Slash's giant foot.

Kneeling down on top of Donnie, Slash attached a heavy, iron chain to the O-ring on the splindly turtle's collar. The larger mutant then pulled on the chain, just enough to strangle his victim for several lengthy seconds, before standing up to admire his handiwork.

"You're _my_ pet now, so you're gonna have to learn to obey your new master! Am I understood?"

Donatello just laid there, wheezing, while Slash loomed over him like an ominous storm cloud.

When the downed turtle failed to offer up a response, Slash hauled his leg back and kicked Donatello in the side once again. This time, even harder. The bigger mutant held fast to the chain hooked to the wounded turtle's collar so the pathetic, little weakling stayed within striking distance.

"Disobedience will be punished. A pet must be trained to do as they're told. Now, I asked you a question! I'm waiting for an answer!"

A whimper was all Donnie could manage, not even sure what the question had been. He was in too much pain to think straight.

Slash roughly hoisted the incapacitated turtle up by the chain, lifting him so that they were face to face. "I'm not gonna ask again." Even though Slash's voice was detached as he spoke the last line, the implied threat behind what he had said was crystal-clear.

"Y – Yes." With the collar around his neck squashing his windpipe, Donatello's response came out less than a whisper.

"Yes, what?"

Another hard jerk on the chain had Donatello struggling for breath. His mind was reeling, terrified of the dire consequences that might follow if he were to answer the question 'wrong,' according to Slash.

"Yes, I... I unders – stand." Donnie choked on the words while his head started to loll forward from the depletion of oxygen and the intense pain.

"That's a good boy." Patting Donatello on the back of the neck like a well-behaved dog, Slash heartlessly dropped the brainy turtle's battered body back down to the floor.

Donnie coughed and gagged for a minute or so, and then, just laid there in a heap, too afraid to move from the spot he was in. The chain that had just been used to strangle him was now draped over the top of him, but he didn't even notice.

"I got ya a little something," Slash said in a casual tone, as though he hadn't just brutally attacked and strangled the already injured turtle only a few moments ago. The larger mutant then slipped out of the room for several lengthy seconds to retrieve the 'something' he had just promised. When he returned, he stopped about a foot away from where Donatello was still laid out on the floor, bleeding and broken.

As the genius turtle instinctively recoiled away from Slash's hulking form, he heard several items land on the hardwood surface next to him. Donnie was frightened beyond belief to see what these items were, but at the same time, he knew if he didn't look at them, he would most likely be 'punished' again for being disobedient. He weakly lifted his head up and turned to see a package of gauze, some tape, a washcloth, and a container of rubbing alcohol lying beside him.

The wounded turtle gaped up at Slash, confused by the gesture, but the larger mutant's demeaning response confirmed that this was not an act of kindness.

"What? You need to clean yourself up. I can't have you bleeding all over the place. I don't want 'pet stains' all over the floors."

Not surprisingly, the first twenty-three comments that popped into Donatello's head were sarcastic, but he figured saying something along the line of, "Why not? The 'pet stains' would just match the rest of the dump you call a home!" wouldn't go over too well. For the time being, his scathing remarks were probably best kept to himself.

Instead, Donnie painstakingly pushed himself up into a sitting position and pulled the first-aid materials closer to him in an almost greedy fashion. The medical supplies that had just been provided to him were limited, so he would have to seriously ration the amount that he used. After the way Slash had just manhandled him, it was only logical for Donatello to assume he was going to need to keep some extra supplies on hand. The intellectual turtle just hoped his family would find him before Slash did more damage than Donatello had additional supplies for.

Gazing down at the box of gauze, Donnie saw that there was a two-and-a-half yard roll inside. That was probably plenty to wrap his leg wound with and leave enough left over to create some sort of a sling for his shoulder injury. This was a good thing, because having his arm hanging floppily at his side was killing him.

No sooner had Donatello started tending to his growing number of injuries when he hit a roadblock. "I'm gonna need something to cut the gauze with." The statement was spoken in much blunter fashion than what was probably wise, considering what the brainy turtle had just been put through, but it was a force of habit. He was used to telling his brothers what he needed when he was treating injuries.

"Not gonna happen. You're just trying to trick me into giving you a sharp object so you can attempt to escape." Stooping over his captive, Slash seized the end of Donatello's 'leash,' but the larger mutant didn't pull on it this time. He just held onto the chain, as if to show the scrawny turtle who was in charge. Slash then sank down onto the grubby floral sofa, not far from where Donatello was currently sitting.

The wounded turtle kept his head bowed down as he responded, careful not to be the slightest bit disrespectful as he spoke. He knew he was in no condition to take another savage beating for being uncooperative.

"N – No... I'm not. It's just that if you want me to s – stop the bleeding, I – I need to be able to cut the wrappings somehow," Donnie tried to reason, but he should have known that there was no reasoning with the cold-blooded monster next to him.

"You've got teeth, haven't ya?" Eyes narrowing into slits, Slash glared his disapproval. He knew what the puny turtle was up to. This was the smartest one of them, after all.

"Uh, that's not exactly sanitary. Do you have any idea just how many germs the inside of someone's mouth contains?" Always one to be accurate, Donatello could rarely stop himself from setting the record straight. Even at the least opportune times.

"Are you talking back to me?!"

Donnie didn't need to hear the anger in Slash's voice to know that the bigger mutant was mad. The sudden tension on his leash and the added pressure on his throat were proof enough that the genius turtle had once again managed to tick Slash off.

Heart galloping out of control, Donatello tried to plead his case as calmly as he could, which wasn't very calmly at all. "N – no! No! I – I was just trying to explain to you that using my teeth isn't a good option, because it could m – make the wound more susceptible to infection!"

"Well, that's too bad, because you're not gettin' anything else from me, you ungrateful, little maggot! Ya got that?" Patience all but gone, Slash balled his hands into fists, as if readying to strike.

"Got it." Sullenly looking away, Donnie kept his fingers crossed that he wouldn't be disciplined for his actions.

"This is my place, so you follow my rules. _I'm_ your master, now."

For some reason, that last line instantly infuriated the wounded turtle.

"You're _not_ my master! You never will be!" Beside himself with anger, Donatello momentarily forgot all about being scared of Slash.

"Well, I got news for you, Donnie boy. I'm all you got now, because your family's _never_ gonna find you. Not unless they search every abandoned building in the city. _This_ is your home now, so you better get used to it." For the sole purpose of his entertainment, Slash yanked on the chain latched to Donatello's collar and watched with undisguised merriment as his 'pet' fell to the floor.

Donnie quickly pushed himself back up into a sitting position and glared at Slash with pure hate glowing in his reddish-brown eyes. Something deep down inside of the genius turtle had snapped, and before he even realized what he was doing, he was telling Slash off. It was a side of him that he had never expected to come out in a million years.

"You're wrong! My family _will_ find me! They'll never stop looking and you know it! That's why you're hiding out in some filthy apartment building! And that's the real reason why you're so angry with my brother, isn't it? Because he didn't think of you as family! Even as close as you two were, he still never considered you one of us!"

It took Donnie all of two-and-a-half seconds to wish he hadn't gotten his brave on. He would've been a lot better off sticking to being the shy one.

An instant later, Slash launched off the sofa and smashed a fist into the side of Donatello's face. With his reflexes slower than normal, the brainy turtle had no chance of defending himself from the incoming blow. The vicious strike sent him toppling backwards to the floor, landing awkwardly on his carapace. He let out a yelp just as he was violently hoisted up by the throat. Fingers wrapped tightly around Donatello's neck, Slash held the smaller turtle up in front of him like he was as light as a feather.

"Sounds like someone needs more training."

The audacity and confidence that Donnie had shown only moments ago had completely disappeared, replaced by fear and submissiveness. He hung limply in Slash's grip, scared to death if he did anything that could be considered fighting back, the bigger mutant would simply squeeze a little bit tighter and break his neck. Slash was already grasping him so fiercely, Donnie thought for sure the metal collar around his neck would bend. Then, it suddenly dawned on the genius turtle that the collar may have been the only thing keeping his trachea from being crushed in the behemoth's enormous hand.

 _Who would have thought there was a bright side in all of this?_

"I knew I should've gotten you a shock collar instead. Heh! Good thing I got other ways to take care of that mouthing off problem of yours." Without an inkling of remorse, Slash threw Donnie back down to the floor, causing the injured turtle to cry out in pain.

"But first, I'm gonna help you out by treating your wounds for ya. We wouldn't wanna let 'em get infected, now, would we? Let's start by straightening out that shoulder of yours. It looks a little crooked. Whatta ya say, Donnie boy?"

Vigorously shaking his head from side to side, Donatello desperately tried to back away, but to no avail. Slash just reached out and cruelly grabbed hold of the weaker turtle's already injured arm, twisting on it without mercy.

Pain was once again all Donnie knew.

His deafening screams echoed throughout the entire apartment complex, but other than Slash, not a single soul could hear Donatello's cries for help.

There was no one to save him from this torture...

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes: Ouch. This was such a painful chapter to write and edit. Poor, poor Donnie.**_ **/(** ╥ **o** ╥ **)\**

 _ **Just a little FYI... For those of you who haven't read 'Mikey's Worst Move Ever' yet, the part of this chapter where Donnie was remembering the time when Mikey lost Spike was a reference to that story. And for those of you who have read 'MWME,' there will be a few more references to the story coming up soon.**_ **=D**

 _ **As always, please take a moment to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on this story. I would absolutely love to hear from everyone and the feedback truly means a lot to me. Thank you very, very much for reading. You are all awesome!**_ **;)** _ **CJ**_


	10. Chapter 10 - Not the Same

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 _ ***Author's Notes: Chapter 10 of 'Slash's Revenge' is here and this one is a bit on the sad side. I hope no one minds me posting it a week earlier than normal. My stepdaughter is getting married next week, so I wanted to get this chapter up before all the craziness starts.**_ **XD**

 _ **Thanks so very much to my absolutely amazing 'editing staff,' Joanne N. Grey and Captain Vegeta. I am incredibly blessed to have these two remarkable women helping me with my stories. They are the super glue that holds me together! I love you both!**_

 _ **I also want to thank all my readers, friends, and followers. You're all super and amazing, as well. *hugs***_

 ** _Okay, let's jump right into the chapter before I get too sappy. Thank you lots and lots for reading._ ;) **_**CJ**_

* * *

 **Chapter 10 – Not the Same**

The laboratory doors were closed up, good and tight. They had been ever since _that_ night.

That awful, awful night…

Raphael found himself looking in the general direction of the lab every few minutes or so, half-expecting his genius brother to come bursting out of the sliding doors to tell them all about some crazy new invention he'd just finished. Never in all his life had Raph wanted so badly to hear the sound of his immediate younger brother's screechy 'look what I did' voice. The same voice the hotheaded turtle had oftentimes rolled his eyes at or tuned out completely, because he had better things to do or didn't have the patience to listen to whatever his brainy little brother had to say.

He hadn't realized how important that voice was until it was gone. He would've given anything to have it back again. To have his brother back again…

It had been four days since the abduction. Four days since any of them had seen or heard from the genius turtle. Four days since the family had been forced to listen to the atrocious sound of Donatello being mercilessly tortured by the monster who had taken him away from them.

His screams still haunted their every thought.

Currently, Donnie's three brothers were moping about in the pit of the lair, just waiting for the sun to set so they could resume their search efforts. Their father had strictly forbidden them from going up to the surface during the daytime, claiming it was much too dangerous for any of them to be topside while it was light out. This had not been a popular decision by any means. The boys had adamantly voiced their strong disapproval of the ordinance – even the ever-dutiful Leonardo – but their father had stood his ground. As much as Master Splinter wanted to go up there and bring his second youngest child home, he could not risk the lives of his other three sons. If mankind were to discover their existence, the consequences could be deadly.

Hence the reason the boys were left to impatiently wait in the confines of the lair until darkness settled over the city once again.

It was an excruciatingly painful process. The daylight hours crept by slower than the three brothers could ever remember; each minute seemed longer than the last.

They attempted to occupy their time with their usual daily activities, but it didn't seem right to do the routine things they enjoyed while Donnie was out there somewhere, being held prisoner by an insane, bloodthirsty mutant. The thought of what Slash could be doing to their gentlest brother was enough to suck the joy out of everything.

And so, they just sat there, waiting for the clock to hurry up.

In a cruel twist of fate, the three of them were currently sitting in almost the exact locations they had been the day of Donnie's kidnapping: Raph on the beanbag chair, Mikey on the floor in front of the TV, and Leo on the couch. Just like that day, Raph had a comic book in his hands and Leo had a magazine. However, both brothers were far too distracted to absorb anything from their reading material. Mikey had switched on the television set, but he wasn't actually watching TV. No one was. The machine had been turned on for the express purpose of creating background noise to drown out the silence none of them wanted to hear.

Once again, Raphael found himself staring at the closed lab doors, hoping against hope that his brainiac brother would interrupt them, just as he had four days ago. The irony of it all was that the red-masked turtle had been annoyed by the disruption back then. Now, he wanted nothing more than to have his younger brother barge in on them like before.

Tearing his eyes away from the lab, Raph turned his stare straight ahead. It was then that he noticed Mikey's big, blue eyes were also fixed on the doors.

As it turned out, the hotheaded turtle wasn't the only brother who kept glancing over at the laboratory. For the past half hour or so, Michelangelo had also been volleying his gaze back and forth between the doors and the floor beneath him. Every time the turtle in orange looked over at his big brother's lab, he felt his heavy heart drop a little lower, but he still couldn't stop himself from doing it. There was this naïve part of him still clinging to the belief that this was all just one bad dream. One that was taking forever to wake up from. Mikey had long lost count of how many times he had pinched himself, trying to get himself to snap out of his stupor. Truth be told, all that pinching was seriously starting to hurt.

To Michelangelo, four days had felt like an eternity. The youngest turtle missed his brainy brother so much it hurt to even breathe. He missed Donnie's big, goofy, gap-toothed smile. He missed the way Donnie used to yell at him for messing with his stuff. He missed Donnie trying to teach him facts and sciency things, even if it he didn't understand about ninety percent of what his smartest brother ever said. Mostly, Mikey missed his best friend. His best friend that had always been there for him.

Until now…

A melodramatic sigh deflated out Mikey, not just because he was super sad, but also, because he wanted to fill the room with some much-needed noise. The lair was once again getting too quiet for Mikey's sanity and he felt as though the walls were closing in on him.

When the sigh didn't satisfy his need for sound, the youngest brother decided that talking was the next best thing.

"So… has anyone heard anything from April today?" Spinning around so he was facing the couch, Mikey looked up at his two oldest brothers and immediately noticed something was off. Granted, the youngest turtle may not have been the sharpest brother in the sewers, but even _he_ knew Raph and Leo were pretending to be reading. Their eyes weren't actually moving, and now that he was really thinking about it, he hadn't heard either one of them turn a page for like fifteen minutes now. Maybe more like twenty… That and they were both still staring blankly at the same exact comic book and magazine they had been holding in their hands for over two hours now. There was no way it could possibly take Raph that long to read one comic book. Even if it was a double issue.

"No." Leonardo's quiet response was halfhearted at best. He knew very well that his youngest brother was only throwing the question out there to strike up a conversation, because Michelangelo suffered from what Donatello had once referred to as 'sedatephobia.' Leo remembered the comical moment that Donnie had diagnosed their baby brother with the condition all too well. Poor Mikey had vehemently denied his genius brother's conclusion, stating that he liked to go out with girls, but he just hadn't found the right one yet. After doing a face-palm, Donnie had quickly gone on to explain that 'sedatephobia' wasn't the fear of dating; it was the fear of silence. Mikey had to take a few lengthy seconds to fully process what Donnie had said before loudly proclaiming…

" _I'm so not afraid of silence!"_

Of course, Donnie, being the witty and sarcastic turtle he was, had simply responded…

" _And I rest my case."_

There was no doubt in Leonardo's mind that Mikey hadn't understood Donatello's snarky comment, because the youngest turtle scrunched his face up like he had eaten something unbelievably sour, but that was part of what had made the moment all the more hilarious. Donnie's snide little remark and Mikey's subsequent expression had been absolutely priceless.

That memory had always brought a huge smile to Leonardo's face, but now, it brought him nothing but sadness. He glanced over at his genius brother's laboratory, but only for a fleeting second. If he would have looked in that direction for even a moment longer, he may have lost the internal battle he was fighting to hold it together.

Mikey's quivering voice kept Leonardo from drowning in his misery, but it wasn't long before the leader found himself sinking in his baby brother's despair.

"M – Maybe we should call her. You know, in case she found something."

"Mikey, don't you think April would've called if she found something?" The tone of Leonardo's voice was deliberately soothing, knowing just how vulnerable Mikey was right now. The leader didn't want to discourage his little brother from staying positive, but at the same time, he didn't want to fill him with a false sense of hope, either.

"Well, maybe she found Donnie and she just got too distracted to call."

As much as Leo wanted to simply agree with Mikey, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that April would never ever get too distracted to call if she found something. Not when she knew just how much they had all been suffering over their brother's absence. Not when she also knew just how torturous every second felt since they had been without Donatello. The worrying and the not knowing were killing her, too.

Leonardo looked down at his youngest sibling with the deepest of sympathy. It broke his heart to watch his baby brother go through such torment. Not even Mikey's vibrant orange mask could disguise the dark circles imprinted underneath his red-rimmed eyes.

The long nights of searching were pushing them all past their limits. From the time the sun set to the time the sun rose, they would comb the city for their kidnapped brother. Yes, they were used to late nights, but not like _this_. They had never put in so many hours before, let alone under such duress. Resolve verging on sheer desperation had them searching straight on through dawn. And with each passing night they failed to find their genius brother, their efforts grew more and more intense.

Due to the extra hours they had been putting in, morning practice sessions had been placed on hold in order for them to get more rest, but none of them were able to sleep all that soundly knowing that Donnie was still missing. They were all virtually running on empty at this point, but they weren't about to stop looking. Not so long as their brother was still in the clutches of a heartless monster.

 _If we ever find Donnie, I'm gonna –_

Leo stopped himself mid-thought when he realized he had started it with an 'if' rather than a 'when.' He mentally cursed himself for thinking even for a second that he might not ever see his little brother again. Their father had always taught them never to lose hope. How could Leo just abandon his sense of optimism so readily when his brother was out there someplace fighting for his life?

Thoughts getting much too heavy for his weary soul to withstand, Leonardo shifted his attention back onto his troubled baby brother. Anything to get out of his own head for a while.

"April wants to find Donnie just as much as we do, Mikey. That's why she's been out searching every day. She'll call if she finds something. She knows how important this is to us."

Mikey let out a melancholy little whimper and nodded his head almost imperceptibly. His gaze then once again drifted over to his brainy brother's lab doors only for him to be disappointed for the umpteenth time that day. What hope the youngest turtle was still clinging to was starting to fray at both ends, and he was the optimistic one.

"It's a little less than an hour before we can go out again, Mikey. Maybe you should grab a quick bite to eat. You didn't have much for lunch." The suggestion seemed a bit hypocritical, since Leonardo had skipped lunch altogether, but he just didn't have an appetite. Plus, a part of him was trying to keep his distance from Raph and Mikey. This greatly reduced the likelihood of him breaking down in front of them; something he didn't want them to see again. As the oldest brother and designated leader, it was his duty to remain strong, or at least maintain the illusion of strength during this difficult time.

"I guess I'm kinda hungry. Anybody want anything?" Mikey's voice was completely devoid of the usual brightness it carried; instead filled with gloom and despair. Even the way he got up to his oversized feet was somehow depressing.

"No thanks, Mikey. I'm good." Leo declined Michelangelo's offer as gently as possible so as not to further upset his already distraught brother.

Raphael, on the other hand, didn't even bother to respond to Mikey's offer. In fact, the red-banded turtle hadn't spoken for hours now.

Leo watched his baby brother trudge towards the kitchen with his shoulders and head hung as low as they could go, like gravity was pulling on him harder than it should. Once the youngest turtle was out of earshot, Leo then turned and set his sights on Raphael.

"You're awfully quiet." As if to corroborate Leonardo's comment, Raphael just sat there and stared at his comic book with an illegible expression that worried the leader far more than Mikey's despondent behavior.

It was impossible not to notice Raphael looked nothing short of terrible. His bloodshot eyes were as red as his mask and the skin on his face was several shades lighter than it should've been. Leo wondered if Raph had gotten even a wink of sleep since their younger brother had been taken.

Not that the rest of them had gotten a whole lot of sleep…

The family was on the verge of collapsing.

Without Donnie, there was no one there to fix everything…

"Raph?"

"What? You weren't exactly talking up a storm, either." A tired grimace was hidden behind the pages of Raphael's comic book. For some reason, he thought the paper wall he had put up could protect him from Leonardo's scrutinizing eyes, but the hotheaded turtle should've known there was no hiding anything from his nosy big brother.

"Well, at least I responded to him. You didn't even acknowledge he was there. That isn't helping, you know? Mikey needs us to be supportive right now. He's having a really hard time dealing with this." Though it was obvious Leonardo had been trying to appeal to the protective, big brother side of Raph, that's not what side he got.

"You think he's the only one having a hard time?" The gruff tone of Raphael's voice had been meant to warn his big brother to back off, but as usual, the fearless leader didn't take the obvious hint.

Peeking over his shoulder, Leonardo made sure that his baby brother was still safely out of hearing range before responding. "We're _all_ having a hard time, Raph, but you know how sensitive Mikey is. And you know how close he is with Donnie. This is killing him. He needs us to be here for him."

"So what? You want me to paint on some fake smile and pretend everything's all hunky-dory? Maybe hold his hand or give him a pat on the shell? Even Mikey would see right through that crap! He knows everything's not okay! He doesn't need us to act like it is! What he _needs_ is Donnie!" The hotheaded turtle's voice climbed in volume and anger with each sentence that he spit out.

Breathing in deeply, Leo closed his eyes for several drawn-out seconds, determined not to let Raph rope him into yet another shouting match. Things around the lair were already tense enough as it was without the temperamental turtle flying off the handle left and right. Not only that, but if the two of them managed to interrupt Master Splinter while he was trying to meditate again, Leonardo was pretty sure both he and Raphael's shells would be cracked.

"I'm just asking you to be a little nicer, Raph. That's all. Mikey… he looks up to you."

"Why in the shell would he look up to _me_? I'm the reason Donnie's gone. If anything, he should hate me. You all should." The words dipped down to a near-whisper by the time Raphael finished them. He then tossed his comic book to the floor so he could wrap his hands around his face.

"None of us could ever hate you, Raph." Leo intentionally ignored the comment about his red-clad brother being the reason that Donnie was gone. The oldest turtle was still having a difficult time not blaming Raphael for what had happened, but Leonardo had made a conscious effort of not voicing his opinion on the matter.

Accusing Raph of being at fault wasn't going to solve anything.

It wasn't going to bring Donnie back…

But just because Leo secretly held Raph responsible for Donnie's capture, that didn't mean he hated his hotheaded brother. There wasn't anything Leonardo's siblings could _ever_ do to make him hate them. They meant everything to him. He would gladly give his life to protect them.

"Well, if I were you, I'd hate my guts. I bet Donnie does." The hands that had just muffled Raph's comments were slowly dragged down his face, at long last revealing the unspeakable anguish he was feeling inside. There was so much pain in that expression, it nearly made Leonardo's already fragile poise falter.

"You know Donnie better than that, Raph." The eldest turtle's sapphire gaze met Raphael's emerald one; both pairs of eyes glistening with a layer of tears the brothers were stubbornly trying to hide from one another. Too proud to let the hurt show.

Raph pulled his legs towards his chest and folded his arms over the tops of his kneepads. His face was turned down into a cross between a frown and a scowl. Had Mikey seen the lop-sided expression, he probably would have dubbed it a 'frowl' or a 'scrown.'

"You didn't hear his voice, Leo. It was so frail, like he barely had the strength to speak at all. And I've never heard him sound so scared. He even called me 'Raphie.' When was the last time you heard him call me that?" Raph's suddenly blank stare made its way down to the floor; a silent admission that he couldn't look his older brother in the eyes a second longer.

"Not since we were kids. We all pretty much stopped calling you that the day you threatened to beat the shell out of anyone who ever called you 'Raphie' again." The corners of Leonardo's mouth curled into the faintest of smiles over the memory.

"Yeah… I remember it took a few weeks to 'break' Mikey of the habit, and even you slipped up a couple of times, but I never once had to remind Donnie. He was smart enough to know better than to call my bluff. He's always been the smartest one." Raphael could feel tears start to dampen his mask; the red material sopping them up like a sponge. A mix of foolish pride and humiliation had him grinding his knuckles into his eye sockets to let the wraps around his hands soak up any telltale moisture that may have still been there.

But the tears just continued to come…

"We're going to find him," Leonardo pledged with as much conviction as he could still summon forth. He had said that exact line so many times now, he worried just how convincing it was anymore, but Leo truly felt it bore repeating at this particular moment. He could see and hear the rapid hope loss in his brother, like what was left of Raph's faith was steadily draining out of him. It was painfully obvious the leader needed to reassure his hotheaded brother, now more than ever.

After hours of being submersed in the beanbag chair, Raphael finally pushed himself up to his feet only to sit right back down beside his older brother on the couch.

A full minute passed before Raph said anything. Leo had been half-tempted to fill the awkward silence, much the way that Mikey would have had he still been in the room, but the eldest turtle, instead, opted to wait his red-banded brother out. Raphael generally wasn't one to open up about what he was feeling inside, so the last thing Leo wanted to do was force his brother to talk before he was ready.

"I – I can't do this anymore, Leo. I can't just sit around the lair, knowing he's in danger because of me. We should be out there looking for him, twenty-four seven. I know what Sensei said, but every day we fail to find Donnie is another day he thinks we've abandoned him."

Leonardo never thought he would ever see his hotheaded brother look as broken as the night they had lost Donnie, but the dejected expression now engraved across Raphael's face was somehow even worse.

"Donnie knows we would _never_ stop looking for him." In all honesty, Leo wasn't sure who he was trying harder to convince of this: Raphael or himself.

"Does he really know that? After all the awful things I said to him, he probably thinks I don't even care about him. What if this whole time, he's been thinking we're not coming for him?" The weakness Raphael always tried so hard to hide came radiating through in his cracked voice.

Leonardo shook his head to demonstrate his disagreement.

"Donnie's smarter than anyone I've ever known, Raph. I'm sure he's realized by now that it was just your insanely bad temper talking. He knows you care about him. That's why he called you 'Raphie' that night. I know he heard the concern we all heard in your voice when you were talking to him on the phone. Right before… before…" Leo couldn't finish the sentence, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't bring himself to actually say the words 'before Slash tortured him.' The leader could still hear his second youngest brother's screams echoing inside his head. How could he ever forget?

The sound of a poorly stifled sob snapped Leo out of his thoughts and what he saw when he gazed over at Raph had him choking on a sob of his own. The sight of his rough and tough brother on the verge of crying was something Leo had never expected. It was also something the eldest turtle never wanted to see.

"I told him he ruined everything, Leo. I called him a screw-up and a walking disaster. Our little brother is being held captive by that merciless psycho because of me. For four days, he's been going through who knows what kind of torture because I can't control my anger," Raph muttered in a voice that was stripped of all strength. He couldn't fight off the tears anymore. The pain was too much. He looked at Leo and it was as though his mournful eyes were pleading with his older brother to do something to make the hurt go away.

The problem being, Leo didn't have a clue how to make the hurt go away. If he did, he certainly wouldn't be feeling just as miserable as Raph right now. Sadly, there were no magical words of solace or wisdom to make Raphael feel better, so Leo did the only thing that he could think of. He let his actions speak louder than words. He lunged forward and wrapped his arms around his red-masked brother, pulling him into a comforting embrace and holding onto him for dear life.

Normally, Raph would have resisted such an intimate gesture. Especially when it was coming from his overbearing older brother. But, in this instance, the temperamental turtle immediately buried his face into the crook of Leo's neck, allowing himself to be consoled by his brother's powerful grip. It was a rare display of affection from the hothead, who was no longer able to contain his emotions. Not when he was feeling so broken inside.

Each breath the turtle in red took shuddered with pain as he struggled to stop himself from crying. He had thought he had hit rock bottom when he had lost Spike, but losing Donnie… _This_ was way worse than any pain he had ever experienced before. It felt as though his entire being was being shredded at the seams.

Maybe that's because he knew damn well _**this**_ was all his fault.

"How could I have been so cruel to him, Leo? What kind of brother am I?"

"You're the kind of brother who won't rest until we find him and bring him back home. And we _will_ bring him back home." With that solemn vow, Leo rested his head against Raphael's, finally letting his own tears fall right along with his immediate younger brother's.

"I… I – I m – miss h – him." These whisper-soft words were hiccupped into Leonardo's neck as Raphael pressed himself tighter up against his big brother.

"Me, too, Raph. Me, too." Agony wrenching at his soul, Leo stared teary-eyed at the closed doors of his genius brother's lab yet again.

If they didn't find Donnie soon, they were all going to fall apart.

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes: I love bro hugs, but this one was so very heartbreaking. These poor kids.**_ **.·(´o`** **)** **·** **.**

 _ **As always, if you are enjoying this story, please take a moment to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment. I truly love reading what everyone thinks of the chapter and your kind feedback means more to me than you'll ever know. I am super grateful to all of you. Thanks so much for reading.**_ **;)** _ **CJ**_


	11. Chapter 11 - Darkness Falls

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: I've finally returned with a new chapter of 'Slash's Revenge.' So sorry for making everyone wait an extra week on this, but as some of you already know, last week marked the one-year anniversary of me posting the epilogue of my story 'Lost in the Fight.' In honor of the milestone, I decided to post a bonus chapter for that story and hold off on my 'Slash's Revenge' update for a few days._**

 ** _I hope this chapter is worth the little extra wait…_**

 ** _Shout outs to my creative consultant, Captain Vegeta, and my beta reader, Joanne N. Grey. They're the peanut butter to my jelly. I love them both with all my heart._**

 ** _I also want to give huge props to my guest reviewers, since I'm unable to send them proper 'thank you' notes each chapter. I am so grateful to all of you. A special thanks to 'Alex' for the wonderful review I received when I got home from work today. It meant a lot to me. I truly appreciate your kindness, Alex. _8}**

 ** _Thanks so much for reading, everyone!_** **;)** _ **CJ**_

* * *

 **Chapter 11 – Darkness Falls**

Nighttime for Donatello had become bittersweet. After a long, hard day of 'training,' Slash would throw the genius turtle back inside his cage and lock him up for the rest of the evening. The larger mutant would then crash on the flowery sofa that was clearly not made for a being of his substantial size. His legs would always extend well past the arms of the seat, making it look like he'd fall right off if he moved even an inch.

Donnie would've found the mental picture amusing if he wasn't one hundred percent certain Slash would take his anger out on him. Instead, it was just one more thing for the kidnapped turtle to stress over…

While he once again listened to Slash's thunderous, apartment-shaking snoring, Donnie curled up on the bottom of his prison cell in a futile attempt to get comfortable. The confines of his cage didn't allow him the liberty to stretch his long legs all the way out and his numerous injuries made it impossible to find a position where at least some part of him wasn't in pain.

Sleep never came easy, if at all...

Donnie's first night there had actually been his most restful one. Of course, that was only because he had slipped in and out of consciousness all night long, and even into part of the following morning. Slash 'treating' his injuries that first night had taken a serious toll on Donatello's body. The bigger mutant's bedside manner definitely left something to be desired, but Donnie had to give him a little bit of credit. Slash had somehow managed to pop the brainy turtle's left arm back into its socket. On the downside, it had taken Slash a dozen or more excruciating attempts to do so, most likely causing additional nerve and tissue damage to the shoulder. Not to mention it had nearly made Donnie pass out from the pain, but at least the bone was back where it belonged.

Once Slash had finished yanking on Donatello's arm, he had made quick, agonizing work of treating the genius turtle's other wounds. Ironically, Donnie had gained several additional injuries during Slash's ministrations, but none of these wounds were quite as severe as the grave shoulder or leg injury that continued to plague the brainiac turtle.

The next two nights had been slightly less painful. Heavy emphasis on the word 'slightly.' After Slash put him to 'bed' for the evening, Donnie had laid on the floor, wide awake, right up until the time he was violently dragged out of his cage for his mandated morning 'training' sessions. Donatello had come to cynically think of these sessions as 'whack-a-turtle time.' The strange need to put a name to his daily torture regimen must have been Mikey's bad influence rubbing off on him.

On the fourth night, Donnie had been kicked into the cage rather than thrown; a noticeably unpleasant change of pace. Upon his rather rough landing, Donatello had just laid there, staring at the wall, too injured to move. Eventually – and mercifully – he had passed out from exhaustion, and perhaps, one too many blows to the head that day.

This was his fifth night of living in captivity and sleep was eluding him once again. He was currently lying on his side with his head nestled up against his uninjured shoulder. Well, his _less_ injured shoulder. At this point, he was pretty sure there wasn't a body part on him that didn't have some type of injury from his many beatings. Even his toes were bruised…

Still, despite the continued brutal treatment, the worst of Donnie's injuries were showing some signs of improvement. He was able to almost move his left shoulder without searing, white-hot pain tearing through his whole body and his mauled thigh was starting to look a little better. The leg wound wasn't bleeding any longer and the swelling had gone down some, but not nearly as much as he would've liked to have seen after five days. Much to his dismay, the wound was beginning to exhibit symptoms of infection. If he developed sepsis –

 _Don't think about that_!

Swallowing past the thick lump forming in his throat, Donnie did his best to shut off the clinical part of his brain. His knowledge of medicine only seemed to be making things even bleaker than they already were.

The wounded turtle wearily turned his head so he could peer up at the lone window in the living room. The moonlight was trickling in through the raggedy curtains, bathing the small space in a pale, yellowish glow. It reminded him of how the radiant moonbeams would sometimes come filtering down into the lair at night.

Sealing his lips together, Donnie suppressed a sorrowful sigh that was hard-set on sneaking out. Even though Slash currently appeared to be dead to the world, the genius turtle wasn't about to take any chances. He was deathly afraid of what the penalty would be if he were to wake the vicious beast from his slumber.

Donatello pulled his broken body into a fetal position and clenched his eyes tightly shut, wanting so much to just disappear into the anesthetized darkness that sleep would deliver.

If only it were that simple…

To just close his eyes and escape the ceaseless pain…

Every night it had been like this. Whenever he squeezed his eyes shut, he would be overwhelmed by this same feeling of suffocating despair.

Logically, one would've thought that nighttime would be the least insufferable part of the day for the genius turtle, but such was not the case. He had actually come to dread the sun going down.

Yes, Slash's bedtime did provide Donatello with a welcome respite from his constant thrashings, but the quietness and inactivity also gave the wounded turtle more time to think about what he was missing. His overactive brain became his worst enemy. Hence, the reason he couldn't sleep. The thoughts and memories of his family would hurt him even more than the physical abuse. At least when Slash was pounding on him, he was too preoccupied to think about all that he had lost.

His loved ones…

His freedom…

His self-worth…

And now, he was losing his hope…

Each night was harder than the one before. Once the sun set, the bars and shadows that were fencing him in felt as though they were coming closer, making his already tiny prison cell seem even smaller. Lying on the stark, hard floor of his cage made him feel utterly alone. He didn't want to feel sorry for himself, but he couldn't help it. He had been reduced to a nothing more than Slash's mistreated 'pet,' constantly kept in a cage or dragged around by a leash.

The wounded turtle hadn't showered or bathed in days. Everything had to be done under the scrutinizing eyes of Slash. This included the once private act of going to the bathroom, stripping Donatello of any and all dignity. He had been given nothing but leaves to eat since his capture, because that's what Raph had fed to 'Spike.' Water had been provided daily to the genius turtle, but Slash forced him to get down on all fours and drink from a dish like an animal. Donnie had flat-out refused to do so at first, but he had been severely punished for his disobedience, resulting in several cracked ribs. After that savage mauling, Donatello had resigned to his fate. Whenever it was time for his daily rations, he would get down on his hands and knees to slurp the water up from a dog dish, but only because he realized he couldn't survive many more beatings like that. Plus, he knew he couldn't go for more than a few days without water.

But of all the awful things Donatello had endured, the most humiliating of them had to be when Slash would place a muzzle over his face to silence him.

It was then that the genius turtle truly felt worthless…

Fortunately, this had been the first day since Donatello's capture that Slash hadn't strapped that damn muzzle on him. Maybe that's because Donnie's ability to fight back was nearly nonexistent at this point. He was so exhausted, he could barely move. Instead of trying to defend himself anymore, Donnie would just lie on the floor, silently praying for an end to his suffering.

He was ashamed for being so weak. If his family saw him like this, they would surely think he was nothing but a disgrace to the Hamato name.

They would've been right.

He _was_ a disgrace…

Blinking back his tears, Donnie coiled himself up tighter, in an effort to conserve his body heat and try to stop himself from shivering. When the sun went down each night, the apartment would get cold enough that he feared he might get hypothermia or shake right out of his shell. This only added to his sleeping troubles, as well as to his misery.

Never before had Donnie longed so much for the comfort of his own home. Never before had he realized just how much he had taken the simple things in life for granted, such as being in his soft, cozy bed, tucked underneath the warmth of his blanket. What he wouldn't give to feel the comfort of a mattress and a downy pillow underneath him rather than the stark, hard bottom of a cage?

There were so many things Donatello ached for now that he was without them, but there was one obvious thing he missed the most.

He closed his eyes and his thoughts returned to his family.

Just as they did every night…

* * *

" _Donnie! Dawwwwww-neeeeeeeeeeee!" Came the screechy voice of his baby brother from the other side of the lab walls. Four seconds later, the pounding started, making it nearly impossible for Donatello to concentrate on the experiment he had been trying to work on prior to Mikey assaulting the doors._

" _What is it this time, Mikey?" Though Donnie had used his most uninviting tone, Mikey entered the lab, regardless. The youngest turtle had never been one to take a hint._

" _Are you gonna be in here all day again?" As soon as Mikey strolled up beside Donnie, he started fiddling around with the various objects on his big brother's worktable. The orange-masked ninja didn't have a clue what half the items were, but that had never stopped him from touching stuff before._

" _Mikey! Don't mess with that!" Donnie was quick to bat his baby brother's hand away from his project, like it was second nature to him. Maybe that's because the youngest turtle was constantly meddling with things he shouldn't be meddling with. He just couldn't help himself…_

" _So whatcha workin' on, D?" Somehow restraining himself from touching any more of Donnie's things, Mikey simply pointed a stubby forefinger at the cluttered tabletop._

" _I'm still trying to find a cure for April's dad." The air of defeat in Donnie's voice was glaringly obvious. He massaged his fingertips into his temples, attempting to ease his steadily worsening tension headache._

 _It had been four days since they had accidently caused the mutation of Mr. O'Neil and Donatello had spent the majority of those past four days feverishly working on creating a retro mutagen that might make April's father human again._

 _The genius turtle internally sighed when he thought about the night of Kirby's transformation and how hurt and angry April had been. She had looked right at the four brothers and told them she never wanted to see their faces ever again. Those awful words were still ringing inside Donnie's brain._

 _They hadn't heard from April since that night and Donatello was afraid she'd never forgive them for what happened._

 _That was why he had been working so hard to come up with an antidote for April's father. In the intellectual turtle's mind, it was the only way to get April back._

" _Dude, you've been working on that for days. You totally deserve a break. And you said you were gonna hang out with us today." Mikey's bright-blue eyes nearly doubled in size in a blatant ploy to make Donnie feel guilty, but the turtle in purple wasn't about to fall for that old trick again._

" _I did hang out with you, Mikey." The highly erroneous claim came out rushed and detached, as if Donatello was distracted by something. The genius turtle was currently pushing his more fragile equipment away from the edge of his workstation, not wanting a repeat of the last time his baby brother had been inside the lab. Mikey had nearly destroyed all of Donnie's microscope slides, and things like that were hard to come by when you were forced to gather most of your supplies from the local scrap yards._

" _When was that?" There was a baffled expression on the younger turtle's face that Donatello never actually saw. He was still too busy Mikey-proofing his workspace._

" _I had breakfast with you this morning. Remember?"_

 _Michelangelo placed his hands on his hips and turned his mouth down into a scowl, clearly offended by his brother's answer._

" _What? That_ _ **soooooo**_ _doesn't count as hanging out, bro! Hanging out is like playing games or skateboarding or watching TV or pulling pranks!" Voice taking on a shrill quality, Mikey used far more noise than seemed necessary. Sometimes, Donnie found himself wishing his little brother came with a volume adjustment knob._

" _I don't have time for any of that stuff right now, Mikey! I need to work on this cure." Glancing up for just a fleeting moment, the smartest turtle gave Michelangelo an exasperated expression before his bloodshot eyes trailed back down to his experiment once again._

" _But you said, D!" The youngest brother's bottom lip jutted out into a classic pout. The kind of pout that usually got him his way…_

" _I said 'maybe,' Mikey, and that was just to get you to stop bugging me about it. Now, could you **please** leave me to my experiment?" It was painfully evident that Donatello had no intention of discussing the matter any further. His little brother just didn't understand the kind of pressure that the genius was under. Mikey's idea of pressure was getting up to certain level on a video game or choosing between pepperonis or anchovies on a pizza._

" _You can't just keep locking yourself up in your lab all day, Donnie! I'm not gonna let you! It's time to call in backup."_

 _The instant he heard the word 'backup,' Donatello's weary gaze quickly shot up to meet his younger brother's devilish one._

" _You wouldn't dare!" Eyes narrowing into slits, Donnie gave Mikey an intimidating glare, but it had no effect on the smaller turtle._

" _Oh, you know I would, bruh. You. Know. I. Would."_

 _There was an unusually smug expression on Mikey's face that Donnie immediately recognized as trouble._

" _Mikey, b – be reasonable! You know how important this cure is! I can't afford to waste any more time!" Donnie tried to argue, but his little brother just shook his head from side to side like a stubborn child refusing to give in._

" _Sorry, bro, but a turtle's gotta do what a turtle's gotta do." A brief pause followed this statement. Just long enough for Mikey to suck in a deep breath so that his lungs were full when he shouted out, "Raph! Leo! Guys! GUYS!"_

 _It took all of three seconds for the two oldest turtles to burst into the lab with their weapons drawn. It then took less than two seconds for Raph to blow his top._

" _Mikey! What the heck were you screaming about? You made it sound like the freakin' Kraang had invaded!" Angrily tossing an arm up in the air to better demonstrate his frustration, Raphael nearly stabbed himself in the face with one of his sais._

 _Seeing that there was no immediate danger to either of his two youngest brothers, Leonardo sheathed his weapons and let his defensive posture soften into a regular stance. He then tried to approach the situation with much more self-control than Raph just had, but his tone still carried his slight irritation over his baby brother's classic case of overacting._

" _So, why'd you call us in here, Mikey?"_

" _Okay, okay! Remember, last night on patrol when Donnie said he was gonna hang out with us today?"_

" _No," both Leo and Raph responded flatly. Neither one of them recalled their brainy brother having said those actual words at any point during the evening. They figured it was just another one of Mikey's made-up stories. Like the time he had claimed they had taken down a cottage cheese demon or the time he had tried to convince them that he had played Shrek in an off-Broadway production._

" _Well, he did! And now, he won't make good on his promise." With the way Mikey made it sound, every galaxy in the known universe was going to rip apart because Donnie had broken this alleged promise._

" _That's why you screamed?" A low, menacing growl rumbled in the back of Raphael's throat as he cracked his knuckles in disapproval._

 _Seemingly undaunted by his hotheaded brother's intimidation tactics, Mikey continued on with his rather theatric pleading. "Come on, guys! I need your help here! Donnie needs a break from all this 'sciency' stuff. He's been cooped up in his lab for days now!"_

" _Oh, yeah? Well, maybe there's a reason for that. Did you ever think he might be coming in here to get away from you, Einstein?" Came Raph's extremely snarky reply._

" _Hey!" Not the least bit amused by his red-masked brother's comment, Mikey crossed his arms in a huff._

" _Thank you, Raphael." A small smirk followed Donatello's expression of gratitude._

" _Don't mention it."_

" _Leo, you're the leader! Can't you make Donnie take a day off or something?" Always the picture of innocence, Mikey held his hands together as if in prayer. He then peered up at his oldest brother with big, watery eyes and excessively dilated pupils._

 _Leonardo had never understood how Mikey was able to get his eyes to do that on cue…_

 _It wasn't normal, nor was it fair._

" _Pleassssssssssssssse." Somehow, Mikey managed to turn his 'please' into a six-syllable word._

 _Most annoying sound ever!_

 _Yet again, the leader in blue was about to let his baby brother manipulate him into doing something, but only because Leo didn't want to listen to Mikey whine for the rest of the day._

" _Ah, fine!_ _Donnie, I order you to spend some time with Mikey." The order was accompanied by a facepalm, as though Leo couldn't believe what he had just commanded._

" _What?! You're actually taking Mikey's side on this? I can't afford to take a whole day off from my work! What about my experiment? What about April's dad?" There was no question that Donatello was upset. If his high-pitched tone didn't give it away, his arms waving hysterically about did._

 _The overly dramatic reaction wasn't enough to make Leonardo take back his order. If anything, it just made him all the more determined to stick to his guns. After all, his smartest brother was acting as though being forced to hang out with them was a fate worse than death. "It's just one day, Donnie. It wouldn't hurt for you to spend a little time with us, would it?"_

" _Are we being honest here?" Never before had a single statement held such pure sarcasm. Donatello just stood there, stock still, so as not to take away from the glorious cynical tone he had just set._

 _Leonardo placed his fists on his hips and struck one of those cheesy heroic poses that made all three of his brothers simultaneously roll their eyes, but it did nothing to dissuade the oldest turtle. Part of being in charge was learning how to deflect his siblings' constant ridicule._

" _Hamato Donatello, as leader of this team, I am hereby ordering you to take the day off."_

 _Two out of Leo's three brothers rolled their eyes up in their heads, once again, while the youngest brother applauded his appreciation._

" _Oh, come on, Donnie. It'll be fun. We could watch a movie, play a board game, go for a walk – " Leo started to list off the seemingly endless possibilities of how they could all spend the time together, but Raph's abrasive voice stopped him cold._

" _Yeah, and then, we could bake cookies and make friendship bracelets."_

" _I'm being serious, Raph!"_

" _Are you saying I'm not?" Raphael pretended to be offended by Leo's comment, but they all knew better._

" _Okay, if I promise to do something with you guys for like an hour or two, will you promise to leave me alone for the rest of the day?" This was Donatello's shameless attempt to find a reasonable compromise that didn't result in him having to give up nearly an entire day of work, but it was all in vain._

 _Leo folded his arms over his plastron in almost arrogant fashion and shook his head before denying his intellectual brother's request._

" _Nope. You're gonna hang out with us whether you like it or not, because I'm banishing you from the lab for the rest of the day."_

" _Oh, for the love of… " The remainder of the sentence came out in the form of a disgusted groan._

 _Finding his genius brother's reaction rather amusing, Raph draped an arm across Donnie's slender shoulders and lightly jostled him around. All the while, the temperamental turtle wore a huge smirk on his face. "Hey! If it makes you feel any better, it'll be sheer torture for me, too."_

 _This comment instantly caused Leo to fire a homicidal glare in his red-clad brother's direction._

" _Not helping, Raph."_

" _Wasn't trying to, Fearless." Raphael purposely used the same vocal intonation as his older brother, clearly poking fun at him. The hotheaded turtle then removed his arm from Donnie's shoulders so that he could strike an indifferent pose as he stared blankly at Leonardo. A silent challenge of sorts._

 _It was at this point that Mikey took his turn at wooing the brainiac turtle._

" _Will you please hang out with us today, D? I know you're super busy and stuff, but ever since April's dad got mutated, we barely see you anymore. I miss you, bro. And I just wanna spend a little time with you. Is that so bad? Pretty, pretty please, Donnie." If his groveling didn't work, certainly the 'there's no possible way you can say no to me' look on Mikey's freckled face would._

 _Sure enough…_

" _All right, Mikey," Donnie quietly submitted, forcing his lips into a thin smile that no one but Michelangelo actually believed._

 _In response, the turtle in orange elatedly threw his arms around Donnie's middle and hoisted his big brother up into a shell-crushing embrace._

" _Oh, D! You won't regret it! We're gonna have so much fun together! This is gonna be super sweet!"_

 _After about fifteen seconds of what seemed like an attempt to squeeze Donnie right out of his shell, Mikey finally set his big brother back down and released his hold on him._

" _I'm gonna go get everything set up! I'm thinking a 'SRMFF' marathon. Then, maybe a little Monster Hockey, followed by some Mazes & Mutants. Oooh, and we should totally make it a pizza party! Aw, yeah!" Mikey started to hum a nameless tune while he pranced out of the lab._

" _Would one of you please just put me out of my misery now?" Staring up at the ceiling for no particular reason, Donatello let his shoulders sag in defeat._

" _Aw, don't be like that, Donnie boy. We're only forcing you to do something you don't want to do because we care, little brother." Yet another smirk spread across Raph's face as he slapped Donnie's carapace hard enough to make the genius turtle stumble forward a step. The hothead then strutted out of the lab._

 _Turning towards his oldest brother, Donnie used his big, reddish-brown eyes to beg Leonardo to reconsider his decision._

 _The leader flashed a boyish grin before speaking in a kind, yet teasing voice. "You know, we're not so bad if you just give us a chance. Is it really so awful that your brothers just want to spend a little time with you?"_

 _Donnie instantly blushed at the question._

" _No, no, of course not. It's just... I seriously need to work on this cure for April's father, because if I don't find one – Well, she might not ever come back." Gaze suddenly unable to meet Leo's, Donnie turned his head away and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly._

" _You will work on that cure." As soon as these words left Leonardo's mouth, Donnie's eyes lit up and locked on his oldest brother's once again._

" _Really?" The intellectual turtle's voice was suddenly filled with Mikey-like enthusiasm at the prospect of being allowed to continue his work, but his oldest brother was quick to burst his proverbial bubble._

" _ **After**_ _you take a day off and have a little fun with your brothers. I know you wanna get April back, Donnie, but I won't let you sacrifice your health. You deserve a break every now and then. Besides, one day with us isn't gonna kill you."_

 _Donatello rolled his eyes, seemingly in disgust, but a small smile revealed otherwise. "You don't know that."_

" _No, but I do know that if you don't drag your shell out of this lab within the next thirty seconds, I'm gonna send Raph in here to get you. Is that how you want this to go down?" Leo hated having to resort to threatening the possible 'Raph-percussions' in order to get his genius brother to follow his orders, but sometimes, being the leader meant you had to practice a little tough love._

 _Hanging his head down in obvious surrender, Donnie resentfully snorted out the word "fine" and twisted his face into a scowl, like a little kid who didn't get his way._

 _The leader in blue couldn't help but to laugh, making Donnie lift his head back up just so he could give his older brother an owlish glare._

 _Another laugh sounded out and Leonardo hooked an arm around his little brother's neck before smugly saying, "You made the right choice, Donnie."_

 _The purple-masked turtle playfully jabbed an elbow into his big brother's side; a silent signal that all was forgiven between them. The two brothers then headed for the main living space of the lair, where Mikey and Raph were already impatiently waiting for them._

* * *

Despite Donnie's eyes being tightly sealed shut, several fat tears still managed to escape and make their gradual descent to the hard floor beneath him.

Another memory, another round of tears…

It had been a couple of months since Donatello had essentially been forced to spend some quality time with his brothers. The three of them had just wanted the genius turtle to do something with them and he had done everything in his power to get out of it.

 _What kind of brother am I?_

Ever since he and his siblings had inadvertently caused April's dad's mutation, Donnie had been so caught up in trying to find a cure for Mr. O'Neil, he hadn't even made time for his own brothers. It was just another thing that he had taken for granted.

He should've spent more time with them when he had had the chance.

He had just assumed that there would always be more time.

That they would always be there…

But now, he was faced with the awful reality that he might not ever see them again.

Prying his puffy, waterlogged eyelids apart, Donatello stared blearily out the window once more. If this was a normal night, he and his brothers would be out on patrol for the evening, but there was nothing normal about his life anymore.

He wondered what his family was doing right now. Were they desperately scouring the city in search of him? Was Master Splinter trying to contact him via meditation, looking for his presence somewhere on the astral plane? Was Leo doing everything he could to keep the family together, while at the same time, pushing them beyond their limits because he couldn't accept failure? Was Mikey driving his two older brothers crazy with his goofy antics and his nonstop jabbering? Was Raph making them all miserable with his bad attitude and foul temper?

 _Raph…_

Every time his second oldest brother crossed his mind, Donnie couldn't help but to think back to that night in the lab.

The night when Raph had told him how he _really_ felt…

" _You're always sorry! I've had it up to here with your excuses, Donnie! What? It wasn't enough that you almost killed Spike? Now, you almost killed all of us with another one of your crazy experiments!"_

" _Raph… I – I didn't mean to…"_

" _I don't want to hear it anymore! You're always screwing everything up, Donnie! How many times have you nearly killed us now? How many times, huh?"_

" _Raph, please…"_

" _Raph, that's enough!"_

" _No! It's not enough! All you ever do is put everyone in danger, Donnie! You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch! You're the reason Spike's gone! I lost my best friend because of you! It was all your fault! If you weren't such a walking disaster, he'd still be here!"_

Pinching his lips together, Donnie swallowed back a sob.

Everything his hotheaded brother had said was true…

If it hadn't been for Donnie, Spike would've never been mutated and none of them would've ever been hurt. If it hadn't been for Donnie, Spike would still be 'Spike' and none of this would've ever come to pass.

" _All you ever do is put everyone in danger, Donnie! You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch!"_

Raph had been right all along…

Donatello was a nothing but a hopeless screw up. It was no wonder his own brother hated him.

Maybe that's why they hadn't come for him…

Why would they?

All he ever did was mess things up…

All he ever did was put their lives in danger…

Why should they come for him?

He was useless…

He wasn't worth saving…

 _NO!_

 _Stop thinking like that! It's only been a few days! They're coming for you! They would never just leave you!_

Donatello was desperately clinging to what little hope remained inside him. The hope that his family would soon rescue him and all this would be over. That little bit of hope was the one thing he had left to keep him going while he endured this living nightmare, but with each passing moment, that hope faded more and more.

Maybe it was already gone…

The tremors racking Donnie's body started to get noticeably worse. He rolled himself up into an even tighter ball in a vain attempt to control the shaking. He had a bad feeling that the cold was no longer the only thing making him shiver. It was yet another sign that his leg wound was getting infected.

If Slash didn't kill him, an untreated infection certainly would.

 _Could you be any more depressing?_

 _You seriously need to think about something else…_

The problem was, no matter what he tried to think about – be it quantum mechanics, molecular biology, the theory of relativity, or even, how to fix the toaster – his thoughts always came back to his family.

He had never in a million years believed that five days could feel like a lifetime, but that's how long it seemed like since he had last seen his brothers.

He wondered if they were missing him the way that he was missing them.

As he let out a shuddered breath, he sealed his eyes shut once again, even though he knew sleep wouldn't come.

It was going to be another long, cold, painful night…

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ ***More Author's Notes: This chapter was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. It breaks my heart every time I read it. Poor, poor Donnie. He could really use a hug. Me, too…**_

 _ **As always, please take a quick moment to send me a favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment if you're enjoying 'Slash's Revenge' and want to see more. Your feedback is very, very much appreciated. I always look forward to hearing from all of you. Thanks for reading and for being so supportive of me, my friends. You're all awesome!**_ **;)** _ **CJ**_

 _ ****PS - Thanks so much for the amazing feedback for the new bonus chapter of 'LITF.' I appreciate it more than words can say. *hugs***_


	12. Chapter 12 - The Blame Game

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: Thanks so very much to those of you still reading this story. I hope you like the new chapter._**

* * *

 **Chapter 12 – The Blame Game**

By the time she pushed her way through the turnstiles leading to the lair, April wondered what was going to give out first: the thin grocery bag she was lugging around or her arms.

Before sneaking down into the sewers to visit her terrapin friends, April had stopped at a local market to pick up a few provisions. Those few provisions now felt as though they weighed at least ten times more than when she had left the shop.

Fortunately, the kitchen was finally in sight.

Her friends, however, were nowhere to be seen.

As soon as she stepped foot inside the lair, the petite redhead couldn't help but notice there was no one there to welcome her or offer to help with the groceries. The only thing that greeted her was the leaden sense of despair hanging over the old, abandoned subway station, just as it had been the past week.

Ever since they had lost Donnie...

April's huge, blue eyes threatened to flood with tears once again at the mere thought of her missing friend.

She still remembered the looks on all their faces when they'd told her Donatello had been kidnapped by the very same monster that had hurt them all so badly just a few weeks before. As they had broken the gut-wrenching news, Leonardo had fought tooth and nail not to cry while sloppy tears had spilled down poor Mikey's cheeks. But as hard as it had been to watch the youngest and oldest brothers' reactions, Raphael's had been the most painful to witness by far. April had never seen the hotheaded turtle look so devastated and utterly lost. His sorrowful eyes had remained fixed on his trembling, clenched hands the whole time.

Heart aching with grief, April let out a shuddered breath.

It had been an awful week. Each night the brothers came home without Donnie was just another day that turned into the worst one ever. April had been trying to help the family out as much as she could, including searching for clues during the day when the brothers couldn't go topside. She had even tried to tag along with them at night, but Leo refused to let her go with. He had claimed it was because Donnie wouldn't want them to put her in any unnecessary danger, but she knew that wasn't the _real_ reason.

If what the brothers had told April of 'Slash' was true, common sense told her the longer it took to find Donatello, the worse condition he would be in, both physically and mentally. A chilling truth that Leonardo was also well aware of. Hence, the reason he was trying to protect her.

A part of April resented the fact that she was being treated like some fragile little girl, while another part of her realized that Leo was right to protect her.

She was already struggling to cope with her dad's mutation, and now, _this_?

It was all too much to bear…

Gnawing on her bottom lip that was already starting to quiver, the teenage girl stopped her forward momentum to stare over at Donatello's lab.

Of the four turtles, April was unquestionably the closest to Donnie, although this hadn't always been the case. His instant crush on her had made it rather awkward to be around him at first, but after getting to know the smartest brother, a tight bond had soon developed between them. She had grown to love Donnie, in a strictly platonic way, of course. She would even go so far as to say he was the best friend she had ever had.

Donnie was brilliant, gentle, witty, and kind to a fault. Always willing to help her, whether it was assisting her with her homework, fixing her laptop, or trying to find a cure for her father. And then, there was the fact that the genius turtle had saved her life who knows how many times now. She had long lost count.

Ever since he had saved her from Karai and that freaky Kraang robot thing Mikey had dubbed 'Chrome Dome,' April and Donnie had grown far closer than before.

Maybe that's because she finally realized just how much she needed him…

Even after her father's mutation, when she had looked Donnie right in those tragic, brown eyes of his and told the brothers she never wanted to see them again, the purple-masked ninja never quit watching over her. She had cruelly shunned him for weeks, yet the second she called him for help, he rushed to her side and risked his life to save her. She had hurt him so very badly, and still, he had been there for her.

Donnie was _always_ there for her.

 _Up until now..._

April's breath caught in her throat as she continued to gaze at Donatello's laboratory. Feeling the already feeble hold on her poise wavering like a flame in a windstorm, she pulled her glistening eyes away from where Donatello should have been and fixed her stare on the kitchen. Quickening her pace as she went, April walked as though she couldn't get away from the lab fast enough.

She paused just before passing through the curtains that separated the kitchen from the rest of the lair, taking a moment to put on a brave front for the family.

They were going through enough as it was. She didn't want to show any signs of nearly breaking down. It would only add to their misery.

As soon as April entered the room, she found the two eldest turtles perched on bar stools. Both brothers appeared to be lost in thought, staring off into space. Leo was stooped over in his seat while Raph had his elbows leaning on top of the kitchen island and his chin rested in his cupped hands, as though he didn't have the strength to hold his own head up without the added assistance.

Neither one of the siblings budged an inch at the sound of April's approach.

"Hey, guys. Did you eat supper yet? I brought some snacks and frozen pizzas if you're hungry." The redhead's tone was lacking its usual cheer as she spoke. Somehow, it didn't seem appropriate to sound anything but gloomy given the circumstances.

While she awaited an answer, April set the grocery bag down on the concrete island in the center of the kitchen to give her arms a much-needed break. When she started to pull the various items out of the bag, Leo pushed himself up off his seat and instinctively went to help.

"Thanks, April. You didn't have to do this." There was no show of emotion in Leonardo's voice or on his face as he opened the refrigerator door and started placing the cold grocery items inside. It was like he was running on autopilot, just going through the motions.

"I know, but I wanted to." April followed her whisper-soft response with a halfhearted smile, and then, turned to preheat the oven.

The silence that had filled the room before she had stepped inside the kitchen was back again and it made her gut instantly start to clench.

The past few days, April had done a majority of the talking whenever she was around the family. She was beginning to wonder if anyone in the lair spoke at all when she wasn't there. Even Mikey had been unusually quiet.

Just the thought of Mikey had April suddenly worrying over the youngest brother's whereabouts. Yes, she had noticed their father was missing as well, but ever since Donatello's abduction, Master Splinter had been in his room meditating every time April had come over, so she had come to expect his absence. Michelangelo's absence, however, was rather surprising. It wasn't like the youngest turtle to be away from his brothers for too long. Especially not when they were in crisis mode. That was typically the time when the baby of the family got the clingiest.

"So, where's Mikey?"

A long pause followed April's question, as though neither Leo nor Raph wanted to answer, but eventually it was the older turtle who spoke up.

"He... He's in Donnie's room." These words had not come easy; that much was evident. After choking them out, Leonardo sat back down on the stool he had just vacated, like his legs were about to give way.

The unnerving silence returned, but this time, it was Raphael who broke it.

"I – I'd better go check on him." Raph leapt up off his bar stool as though he had just been waiting for an excuse to leave the room. If April didn't know any better, she would've sworn that the red-clad turtle was trying to get away from her, which made her feel about two inches tall.

"Raph, I… I didn't mean that you had to go and check on him. Why don't you let me do it, so you can eat?" As she motioned for the hotheaded brother to sit back down, April's huge eyes practically begged him to stay.

"It's okay, April. I'm not feeling all that hungry anyway." Though Raph's voice came out detached, there was pain hidden in the seemingly impassive tone. He then rushed out of the kitchen so as to avoid anyone trying to convince him to change his mind. Not that they would've been able to anyway...

"I am _so_ sorry, Leo. I wasn't trying to upset him. Honest." The palpable regret in April's apology made Leonardo's empty stomach turn.

For some reason, seeing April so visibly upset just made Leo miss Donatello all the more. He knew how much his genius brother cared for April. If Donnie would've seen her hurting like this, he would've dropped everything he was doing and immediately tried to comfort her. He was absolutely crazy about April. He had been from the moment he had first laid eyes upon her. His face would light up whenever she was around. Maybe that's why Leo was having such a tough time looking at her right now. And maybe that's why Raph had been trying his best to avoid April the past few days.

Being around her brought up too many memories...

Of course, Leo wasn't about to tell April that just her being there was making it harder on everyone. He knew she was only trying to help.

"It's not your fault, April. Raph's having a tough time being around any of us right now. I think... I think he's just worried that everyone blames him for what happened." The words were spoken in a weary voice that seemed to grow quieter with each passing syllable. Leaning forward, Leonardo folded his arms on the kitchen island and rested his head on his wrists.

"So... do you blame him?" It was a question April had been meaning to ask Leo from the time she had found out why Donnie had left the lair that night. She'd just never had the opportunity to pose it until now. This was the first time she and Leo had been alone together since the abduction.

"Wh – What?" Leo coughed out the word as though it had gotten stuck in his throat. He was suddenly sitting in a bolt upright position, peering over at April with a 'deer in the headlights' look.

"Do you blame Raph for what happened?" Despite the slight rewording of the question, the meaning stayed the same. It was still just as shocking to hear the second time.

Casting his gaze away from April, Leo stared down at his hands, which were balled up into tight fists.

The truth was, Leonardo had asked himself that exact question, over and over again, and the answer was always the same. What difference did it make? He could blame Raphael all he wanted for what had happened. The harsh reality remained: it wouldn't bring Donnie back.

"Even if I told you I did, does it really matter?" There was coldness in Leo's tone that April hadn't expected, but she understood the reasoning behind it. She had been wrong to ask such a personal question at a time like this. As unpleasant as Leo's answer had been, she totally deserved it.

"No... I guess not." Rubbing a hand up and down her forearm in a vain effort to comfort herself, April now took her turn at avoiding eye contact.

"I – I'm sorry, April, but I just remembered there's... something I really need to do before we go out searching for – " Leonardo stopped himself just before he uttered his missing brother's name, certain that if he did say it, he'd lose his composure right there and then.

It wasn't like April didn't already know who the leader had been referring to anyway…

Pushing himself up off his stool, much the same way as Raphael had just a little while ago, Leonardo started towards the exit.

"Leo... " Lungs feeling as though they were closing in on her, April could only gasp out her friend's name.

"I, um… I have to go, April. Thanks for bringing supper." The word 'supper' had no sooner left Leonardo's lips when he was already hightailing it out of the kitchen like the lair was under attack.

Not at all thrilled with how the conversation had gone, April let loose a long, exasperated sigh and dragged her hands down her face. In a matter of minutes, she had managed to drive both of the oldest brothers away.

The oven sounded off to signal that it was preheated, but there was no sense in cooking the pizzas now.

That was okay with April.

Suddenly, she wasn't feeling all that hungry, either.

* * *

Sucking in a deep breath and holding it for a good twenty seconds, Raphael pushed open the door to his missing brother's room and silently entered. It was the first time the red-clad turtle had actually stepped foot inside the room since Donatello had been taken away from them. That's not to say that Raph hadn't thought about it hundreds of times. Whenever he passed by his genius brother's bedroom on the way to his own room, he couldn't stop his eyes from gravitating towards Donnie's door. A few times, the hotheaded turtle had even walked up to the bedroom and pressed a hand against the outside of it, as if it might somehow make him feel more connected to his brother. But he just couldn't bring himself to actually enter the room.

At least, not until now…

Once Raphael was inside the bedroom, he had no trouble locating Michelangelo. Despite being a highly trained ninja, the youngest turtle had never been all that great at making his presence unknown. Being the center of attention was more his thing.

Mikey was sitting on top of Donnie's bed with his legs crossed in front of him; his waterlogged gaze glued to the T-phone tightly clutched in his left hand.

Raph didn't need three guesses to figure whose phone it was.

"Hey, Mikey." Quietly making his way across the room, the larger turtle sank down onto the end of the bed, a few feet away from where Mikey was situated. The distance the red-masked turtle kept between them had been completely intentional. A part of him didn't feel as though he had a right to sit any closer to his hurting baby brother.

After all, Raphael was the reason for that hurt.

"Hey, Raph." Mikey's response came out as a heavy sigh rather than in a voice like he had meant it to. His eyes remained fixed on the phone.

As he looked over at his little brother, Raphael caught a glimpse of the image Slash had left for them on Donnie's T-phone. It immediately made the temperamental turtle want seize the device and break it into a million little pieces, but he somehow managed to keep his anger in check.

"Mikey, I don't think it's such a good idea to be looking at that picture." Raph reached out and gently placed a hand over the screen of Donnie's phone to conceal the disturbing image underneath his palm. Unfortunately, the old saying 'out of sight, out of mind' didn't apply in this instance. The turtle in red could still see a mental picture of his injured and unconscious brother wearing that horrible collar Slash had placed on him.

 _Slash_ …

Raph wondered how something he had once cared about so much could've turned into something he now hated more than anything.

When the temperamental turtle finally found Slash, he was going crush every bone in his body. He would not show that monster a shred of mercy.

The sound of Mikey speaking pulled Raph out of his dark thoughts.

"I know this is gonna sound totally dumb, but I've called his phone like a hundred times just to hear his voice." Eyes brimming with tears, Mikey continued to stare down at the device now covered by his older brother's hand. The orange-clad ninja didn't understand what had possessed him to look at that awful image again when all it did was break his heart. His best guess was that he felt a compelling need to look at the picture because it was the last image they had of Donnie. It was his messed-up way of desperately hanging onto his missing brother, just like calling the genius turtle's T-phone, over and over again.

Seeing that Mikey's gaze was still fixated on the phone, Raph was quick to pull the device out of his little brother's rather rigid grip and tuck it under his leg. Judging by Mikey's red, puffy eyes, he had stared at that picture long enough.

"That isn't dumb, Mikey," Raph said of his baby brother's admission. He recognized Mikey's actions as an obvious coping mechanism, and the way Raphael saw it, anything that could help his little brother get through these trying times certainly wasn't dumb.

The words weren't coming easily for either brother, so they didn't speak for several minutes.

Silence was a habit Mikey had only recently picked up. Before Donnie had been taken away from them, Mikey had been absolutely lousy at keeping quiet, but now, he found it was far less complicated than talking. In fact, it was starting to become the new normal. Hence the reason this was the first verbal exchange he and Raph had had all day.

The youngest turtle drew his knees into his chest and wrapped his arms securely around his shins, pulling his legs as close as possible. It was a futile attempt to console himself.

"What are you thinking about, Mikey?" Though Raphael already knew the answer to his question, he posed it, nonetheless. In an unexpected breach of character, he was actually trying to get his little brother to say something.

A long pause for deliberation transpired before Mikey finally responded in an eerily soft voice.

"Do you remember the day of Spike's transformation? When you thought I'd snuck into your room and borrowed your 'Green With Envy' comic book?"

"Yeah." Truth be told, Raphael really didn't want to be reminded of, either, his brother sneaking into his room to steal his stuff or of Spike's transformation, but he pretended as though the question hadn't bothered him. The last thing his baby brother needed right now was for the hothead to show his bitter side.

"Well, that wasn't the only thing I borrowed from you room." Unable to look his older brother in the eyes, Mikey stared down at the bed and started to unintentionally rock back and forth.

"Are you talking about getting pizza stains on my 'Modern Ninja' magazines collection, because I don't – " Raph started, but was soon cut off.

"NO!" The bark in the youngest turtle's tone surprised not only Raph, but Mikey himself.

For a long moment, there was silence, but Michelangelo eventually found his voice again. A voice that was tentative and frail. Nothing at all like it was supposed to sound.

"I took Spike out of your room and I… I lost him."

"You what?!"

"I, uh… I just wanted to play with him for a while, you know? So, I brought him into my room, and somehow, I wound up losing him.

"Donnie... He tried to help me find him… to stop you from cracking my shell." While Mikey made his confession, the material of his orange mask started to darken, visibly soaking up the falling tears.

"Why are you telling me this now, Mikey?" Though Raph managed to keep any trace of anger out of his voice, his youngest brother's revelation was making it harder and harder to control his temper. He didn't understand why Mikey would come clean about this four weeks after it had happened.

"Because... because I could've stopped this, Raph." Resting his head atop his bent legs, Mikey let his knee pads collect the moisture dripping from his eyes.

"How do you figure that?" The rage that had been brewing within Raphael withered away when he heard the pain in his baby brother's voice.

Though sadness was bearing down on him like the heaviest of weights, Mikey forced himself to lift his head up and look Raph straight in the eyes.

"If I would've just told you the truth, like I should have… you would've been so mad at me, you… you would've pummeled me into the ground and probably left the lair for the rest of the day. You wouldn't have been there when Donnie's experiment went all crazy! And Spike… Well, he wouldn't have been in the pit, so you wouldn't have gotten mad when Donnie almost killed him! And you wouldn't have taken that can of mutagen from Donnie! None of this would've ever happened!" Mikey's voice grew in volume with each word that he spoke until he was practically shouting at his older brother. The younger sibling was so upset, he wasn't even aware he'd raised his voice.

"Mikey, this isn't your fault!" Grabbing his baby brother by the shoulders, Raphael gave him a good shake to try to snap him out of his slightly crazed behavior.

No such luck…

"Yes! It is! I could've stopped this whole thing if I would've _really_ lost Spike that day! Then, he couldn't have hurt us. I wish... I wish I would've lost him in the sewers where we never could've found him again. Heck, I wish I would've left him on his back in the middle of the street so someone could run him over! I – I know I'm a terrible turtle for saying something like that, but – " Just as Mikey was about to tell Raph how much he hated his former pet, the hotheaded turtle stopped his little brother short.

"No, Mikey! You aren't a terrible turtle! You've got every right to say what you just said! And none of this is your fault! This all on me! I'm the reason Spike got turned into that… _thing_ , and I'm the one who said all that awful stuff to make Donnie leave the lair that night, not you! And I'm the reason Slash went after him. _I'm_ the reason he's... he's g – gone. If you're gonna blame someone... blame me." Raph could barely bring himself to complete the last few sentences. The word 'gone' had been nearly impossible to get out. That's because a small part of him thought of 'gone' as another word for 'missing,' but there was a darker part of him starting to think of 'gone' as something much, much worse...

"I don't want to blame you, Raph." Even though Mikey didn't come right out and say he actually held his hotheaded brother responsible for what had happened to Donnie, it had been implied in his muted tone.

"It's okay, little brother. I want you to blame me. Shell, you should hate me for what I did." Tired of everyone pretending as though what had happened wasn't his fault, Raphael felt a strong need to convince Mikey to condemn him for his actions. It's what the turtle in red felt he truly deserved.

"I don't hate you. I could never ever hate you, but – " Mikey's ability to speak temporarily failed him. He cleared his clogged throat and tried again. "What you did... What you said to Donnie. I don't know if... I don't think that I – " Again, Mikey couldn't get the words out, but he didn't have to. His big brother understood what he meant without him having to actually say it.

"You don't have to forgive me, Mikey. I don't expect you to." Reaching out a hand and curling it around Mikey's forearm, Raph watched on helplessly as tears began to gather in his youngest brother's eyes yet again. The sight made the temperamental turtle's jaw clench with self-loathing.

 _He_ had made Mikey feel this way...

 _He_ had done this to his family...

"I – I'm sorry, Raph," the youngest turtle breathed out, turning his head away from his older brother. Mikey then dropped one hand down to the bed so he could cling to his missing brother's blanket, hoping it might bring him some sense of relief.

Hearing Mikey apologize for something that was no fault of his own reminded Raph of that appalling phone call with Slash. In the back of his mind, the hotheaded turtle could still hear Donnie saying 'I'm sorry' just before that hideous monster had rendered him incapable of speaking. What the heck Donnie and Mikey had to be sorry for Raphael had no clue. All the two of them had been guilty of was being related to the biggest temperamental jerk of all time.

"No… No, _I'm_ sorry, Mikey. Sorry for causing everyone so much pain." As Raph made his apology, he let go of Mikey's arm, once again feeling as though he had no right to make physical contact with his brother.

"I don't want your apology, Raph. I just want our brother back. I want Donnie." Big, blue eyes finding their way back to his older brother's intense stare, Mikey silently pleaded for Raphael to make it better. Anything to make the hurt go away...

"I promise you, little brother, I _will_ find him. And I _will_ bring him home."

The words had been meant to comfort Mikey, but alas, they did not. There was something about the red-masked turtle's tone and the way he had ended the sentence that made the youngest turtle shiver inside his shell. It was as if Raph had intended to say more, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Mikey may not have been the most observant turtle in the lair, but he knew his family was starting to prepare for the worst. He could see it in their eyes and he could tell by the way they barely spoke to each other anymore.

They had lost hope. This crushed the youngest brother's already broken heart.

"He's still alive, Raph. He _has_ to be! Because if he isn't, I... I just don't know what I'd do." Each word fell quieter than the next until there was nothing left of Mikey's voice but his ragged breath.

With gut-wrenching dread, the hotheaded ninja realized he had just allowed his baby brother to pick up on his negative thoughts. Although Raphael hadn't been able to actually bring himself to say the words 'even if it's just his body,' Mikey had obviously seen the despair written on his older brother's face and heard it in his dismal tone.

But maybe it was time for the youngest turtle to accept the truth…

As much as Raph hated himself for thinking that his genius brother was 'gone,' the fact of the matter remained: the longer Donnie was missing, the less likelihood they would find him alive. And if Donnie was indeed 'gone,' that would mean Raphael would single-handedly be responsible for destroying his family.

If this was the case, Raph would never be able to face them ever again.

He would have to leave and never return.

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ ***More Author's Notes: This chapter was hard. Really, really hard… I can't even begin to describe what I was feeling inside.**_

 _ **As some of you may have already noticed, there were several references to my short story, 'Mikey's Worst Move Ever' in this chapter. For those of you who haven't read that story yet, Mikey just summed it up quite nicely for you here.**_

 _ **If you're enjoying 'Slash's Revenge,' please let me know. It would mean a whole lot to me. Even it's just a quick note to say you're still with me...**_

 _ **T**_ _ **hank you all very, very much for reading. Take care.**_

 _ **CJ**_


	13. Chapter 13 - Beat Down

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: I'm back with a new chapter of 'Slash's Revenge' and the title of this one pretty much says it all._**

 ** _Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of me posting the first chapter of this story. Enormous thanks to my readers, followers, and friends. I appreciate you all so very much._**

 ** _Thank you for reading, everyone!_**

* * *

 **Chapter 13 – Beat Down**

The sound of a padlock being unlatched awoke Donatello from a restless sleep. Even in his groggy state, he knew exactly what that sound meant and he couldn't help but let a dreadful whimper slip out. The genius turtle turned just in time to see the cage door swing open and two large hands reach inside. With one quick yank, Donnie was pulled out of the shelter of his metal prison and thrown unceremoniously onto the living room floor of Slash's apartment.

The wounded turtle cried out in agony, not even sure which body part to cling to in hopes of lessening the pain.

It was everywhere…

"Time for breakfast, Donnie boy."

Trying his best to ignore the throbbing in his dislocated – possibly broken – shoulder, Donatello placed the palms of his hands flat against the hardwood floor and slowly pushed himself up several inches so he could look around the apartment. He could see his water bowl and morning ration of leaves were already set out for him. This told him he must have really been out of it. He hadn't even heard Slash preparing his 'meal.' Not to mention he hadn't felt the removal of the dreaded muzzle that Slash had strapped on him sometime yesterday afternoon. Of course, getting punched in the side of the head last night may have had something to do with Donnie being so out of it. His jarred brain was still ringing from the vicious strike.

For reasons unknown, Slash had been in a particularly bad mood the day before and had taken his frustrations out on the only other occupant of the otherwise abandoned apartment complex.

 _Slash: two hundred-seventy-six, Donatello: zip._

The last two things the intellectual turtle remembered about the evening were a huge fist slamming into his head and his incapacitated body flying backwards into the wall. After that, everything went black for who knows how long.

 _Well, I guess that's one way to get a good night's sleep_... The snarky inner voice groaned inside Donatello's aching head.

Too distracted by his own misery, Donnie didn't even register the movement beside him before he felt a swift kick delivered to his rib cage, sending him rolling over onto his back.

 _Make that two-hundred-seventy-seven…_

While he laid there, wheezing and gasping for the air that had just been kicked out of him, Donnie watched on helplessly as Slash hooked the heavy chain up to the loop on the front of his metal collar. The injured turtle's thoughts immediately turned bitter, knowing there were far less cruel ways to attach the chain, but Slash seemed to take pleasure in doing everything in the most painful way possible.

As if to prove Donnie's unspoken point, Slash then started dragging the smaller mutant around by the chain, causing him to choke for air yet again. Donatello couldn't help but wonder just how much irreparable damage all this constant abuse to his throat was doing. Of course, that probably shouldn't have been his main concern right about now. What he should've been stressing over was the infection that had set in. Not only could he visibly see it on his wounded leg in the form of thick, yellowish pus, but he could also physically feel the symptoms beginning to take hold of him. He was so exhausted, he could barely lift himself up anymore. While this fatigue could be the result of one too many sleepless nights, he also had the chills and felt feverish. All these symptoms were indicative of infection.

"Get on your hands and knees like a good little pet."

Donnie had learned early on that failure to comply with this order resulted in him getting his shell kicked, hard. On the third day of his captivity, he had made the grave mistake of showing defiance during mealtime. Slash had slammed him into the floor, over and over again, and then, force fed him until he gagged and eventually threw everything back up. This had only managed to anger the larger of the two mutants all the more. The beating that had followed that incident –

Well, needless to say, it had been a rough day…

Not wanting a repeat of that epic pounding, Donnie attempted to push himself up into an all fours position, just as Slash had demanded, but his limbs gave out from underneath him and he collapsed back down to the floor.

Without an ounce of sympathy, Slash gave Donnie's chain a harsh tug, causing the smaller turtle to yelp.

"You got two seconds to do as I say or you're gonna seriously regret it!"

Knowing that Slash wasn't generally one to bluff – especially not about threats of violence – Donnie once again tried to get up, but an intense dizzy spell sent him back down to the floor. Upon his somewhat awkward landing, pain shot up his wounded leg, making it momentarily impossible for him to do anything but lie there.

Donatello's sense of panic started to rise right along with Slash's temper.

"I _**said**_ on your hands and knees!"

"I'm trying! I – I swear! B – But my leg… I think it's infected. I n – need an – " Before Donnie was able to finish his request, he was hoisted up into a somewhat kneeling position by his chain. The wounded turtle immediately shifted all his weight onto his good leg. When Slash let up on the chain, Donatello fell forward, but somehow succeeded in catching himself just before doing a face plant. He then held himself up by distributing the majority of his weight between his two less injured limbs. Thanks to Slash, Donatello was now in the assumed position, although the genius turtle wasn't feeling all that grateful about it, nor was he feeling all that well. Now that he was hovering over his food dish, his stomach began to protest over the mere sight of his 'breakfast.' His appetite had forsaken him days ago. Not that leaves were exactly appetizing in the first place.

If he never saw another salad again, it would be too soon.

"Eat the damn food! _**NOW**_!"

Cowering at Slash's fierce tone, Donnie obediently lowered his face towards the metal bowl containing his alleged 'food.' He hated himself for being so submissive, but it wasn't like he had any pride left to salvage. Between being dragged around by a collar and chain, silenced by a muzzle, stripped of all privacy, and forced to eat like a common household pet, Donnie was pretty sure any semblance of his dignity was long gone at this point.

And so, he obeyed, if only to make life a little bit easier.

Unfortunately, as simple of a request as eating was, Donatello was unable to comply. The closer his face got to the bowl, the more repulsed he was by the thought of eating. He choked back a gag while the whole room started to spin around him.

 _Not a good sign..._

"Go on!"

"I – I can't. I'm sick. I told y – you… my leg's infected. I n – need an antibiotic or – " Once again, Slash cut Donnie off before he could finish. This time by means of a hard slap to the back of the head, which nearly made the wounded turtle fall face first into his dish.

"I don't care what you need! Looks like someone's ready for another beat down!"

The words 'beat down' never failed to make Donnie shudder in his shell. It meant that Slash was going to pound him within an inch of his life again.

"No! P – Please! You don't understand! If y – you don't treat the infection, it – it could lead to sepsis… and that c – could be fatal."

All that Donatello received for his troubles was a swift kick to the gut, effectively knocking him back down to the floor. As he curled up onto his side, gasping for air, Slash towered over him.

"Pathetic. You always have been. That's why your brothers haven't come for you yet. They know you're weak and useless, so they stopped searching. I mean, why bother, right?"

"You're – You're wrong." The response should have sounded more confident than it had, but Donatello wasn't entirely convinced that Slash was, in fact, wrong.

"Am I? You think if I would've taken the almighty, fearless leader, your dear old rat dad wouldn't have found him by now? He would've combed every inch of this city to find his precious Leonardo, but not you, Donnie boy. No, not you. He doesn't care a thing about you. No one does. That's the real reason why your family hasn't found you yet."

All Donnie could do in response was twist his head from side to side in denial. He didn't want to hear anymore, but Slash continued along in an enthusiastic-sounding voice, adding further insult to injury.

"How's it feel to know your family thinks so little of you, they've left you for dead? I mean, I knew that Raphael would, but the rest of 'em. Heh! They must really think you're a worthless piece of shell."

Something about what Slash had just said instantly sparked Donatello's interest. Not so much the cruel insults, but rather, what the bigger mutant had said about Raph. Donnie used his good arm to slightly prop himself up off the floor in order to look Slash in the eyes as he spoke.

"What – What do you mean you knew Raph would?"

A seismic level four belly laugh seemingly shook the entire apartment building, indicating Slash had found the question quite humorous.

"Raphael used to tell me everything about you guys. He always said that you three held him back and that he didn't want to be a part of the team anymore. He especially couldn't stand _you_. He never missed a chance to point out what a hopeless weakling you are and how he wished you weren't related to him. He used to constantly say he couldn't believe he had such a pathetic loser for a brother."

Again, Donnie was twisting his head from side to side, only this time, his voice accompanied the gesture. It carried far more insolence than either turtle had expected.

"He _never_ said that! You're lying!"

Another hearty laugh sounded out.

"You can deny it all you want, Donnie boy. The truth is, Raph always thought the least of you. He told me time and time again that you were the most useless one. An embarrassment to the clan."

Hearing this, Donnie attempted to cover his ear slits and curl up into a ball. He just wanted to make the pain go away.

"No."

The genius turtle's distraught reaction only egged Slash on. This was a heck of a lot more fun than just physically abusing the scrawniest brother. The devastated look on Donatello's face was too perfect.

"You're good for nothing."

"No!"

"Poor, frail, little Donatello."

"N – NO!"

"Your brothers aren't coming for you."

"S – Stop!"

"And why should they? You're not worth saving."

The words cut deep. As much as Donatello wholeheartedly wanted to believe that all the awful things Slash was saying weren't true, he just couldn't convince himself otherwise. Not when he could still hear the hurtful things his own brother had said to him ringing in his ear slits...

" _You're always screwing everything up, Donnie!"_

" _You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch!"_

Donatello's dark thoughts then suddenly reverted to a conversation he and Raphael had had not long after they had first encountered Chrome Dome. The brothers had just tracked down the Kraang's latest secret weapon (aka 'Chrome Dome') when the genius turtle had received a distress call from April. He had made a rash decision to rush to April's side, leaving his brothers to fight off the Kraang on their own. It was a decision his siblings did not take lightly.

Especially Raphael…

After they had all returned to the lair, the hotheaded turtle had cornered Donnie inside his laboratory and expressed his strong disapproval of his younger brother's actions that night.

In the back of his mind, Donatello could still remember exactly what Raph had said to him...

" _What the shell were you thinking back there?"_

" _What do mean?"_

" _You totally ditched us to go save your girlfriend! Brothers are supposed to have each other's backs! Not leave each other for dead! No turtle left behind, remember?"_

" _But April was in trouble, Raph! What was I supposed to do? Just let her get attacked?"_

" _Instead you let_ _ **us**_ _get attacked! We were in the middle of a mission!"_

" _I thought you guys could handle it!"_

" _You thought we could handle it? Or you just didn't care about us because it was April?"_

" _Raph, you know that's not true!"_

" _Are you sure? Because this isn't the first time you've chosen April over us!"_

" _Raph... I – "_

" _Brothers should always come first, Donnie! Always!"_

" _I know."_

" _Do you, Donnie? 'Cause you could've fooled me! You know, one day your willingness to abandon us just might come back to bite you."_

" _Wh – What are you saying?"_

" _I'm saying next time you need one of us to save your shell, don't expect us to just forget what happened tonight, Donnie! Because we won't! Remember that!"_

The memory caused Donatello's eyes to widen with dawning horror.

All this time, he had thought his immediate older brother had just been speaking out of anger, but perhaps, it was something much, much worse than that…

" _One day your willingness to abandon us just might come back to bite you."_

" _Next time you need one of us to save your shell, don't expect us to just forget what happened tonight, Donnie!"_

It was at that exact moment Donatello felt his whole world shatter.

They weren't coming for him.

Every one of Raph's words from the last time Donnie had seen him came flooding back with all the gentleness of a wrecking ball...

" _You're always sorry! I've had it up to here with your excuses, Donnie! What? It wasn't enough that you almost killed Spike? Now, you almost killed all of us with another one of your crazy experiments!"_

" _I don't want to hear it anymore! You're always screwing everything up, Donnie! How many times have you nearly killed us now? How many times, huh?"_

" _All you ever do is put everyone in danger, Donnie! You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch! You're the reason Spike's gone! I lost my best friend because of you! It was all your fault! If you weren't such a walking disaster, he'd still be here!"_

Donnie's entire body began to shake even worse than it already was.

His family – they weren't coming for him.

The reason he was still here – it wasn't because they hadn't been able to find him yet.

It was because they didn't _want_ to find him.

" _And why should they? You're not worth saving."_

The realization was more than Donatello could possibly bear.

 _It's all my fault._

 _All. My. Fault._

"I think it's time for another beat down, Donnie boy."

Just seconds after making this ominous announcement, Slash picked Donatello up off the floor as though he weighed nothing. The already defeated turtle just hung there, limp in the larger mutant's grip. As his 'master's' fists began jackhammering into him, yet again, Donatello simply let out a series of quiet whimpers, no longer able to put up any form of resistance.

Not that it mattered.

There was no reason left to fight back.

" _You're good for nothing."_

There was no reason left to hang on.

" _Your brothers aren't coming for you."_

There was just no point anymore.

" _You're not worth saving."_

He was nothing.

Nothing but a useless pet.

Donatello wasn't sure what hurt more: the pain from the savage beating he was receiving or the pain from his broken heart.

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ ***More Author's Notes: So much sadness!**_ 。゜゜ **(´Ｏ`) ゜゜。**

 _ **Well, we've now reached the part of the story where the proverbial stuff is about to hit the fan. Warning! The next few chapters are rather intense. Especially chapter 14. I seriously can't wait to share this one with everyone. I just might have to try posting two chapters this month. But only if everyone feels like they're ready for it… LMK ;)**_

 _ **If you're enjoying this story, please take a moment to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment. I love hearing from all of you and appreciate the feedback lots and lots and lots.**_

 _ **Thanks so much for reading. CJ**_

 ** _*Special note: Remember, from the first chapter of this story that 'Slash's Revenge' and my son share the same birthday? Well… they do, so happy birthday tomorrow to my little boy who's not so little anymore. I love you, B! You, your sisters, and your dad are my sun, my moon, and all of my stars. *hugs and kisses* mommy_**


	14. Chapter 14 - The Middle Ones

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: Here's the latest chapter of 'Slash's Revenge,' and as I warned you in the previous chapter, this one is rather intense._**

 ** _Thanks so much for reading._**

* * *

 **Chapter 14 – The Middle Ones**

For the life of him, Raphael couldn't remember how he had even gotten here, but the fact of the matter remained, he was, indeed, standing on the very rooftop where Donatello had been taken from them.

Unspeakable rage coursed through the red-clad turtle's entire being as he stared down at the rough surface beneath his feet. Blood – _his brother's blood_ – painted the rooftop an ugly shade of dark brown. Granted, the blood had faded some in the ten days since it had been spilled, but it was still there, taunting him. Truth be told, even if the stains had been washed away completely, they would still be forever etched in Raphael's brain.

Hands clenched into the tightest of fists, Raph cast his gaze away from the surface, nearly giving himself whiplash in the process. The problem was, everywhere he looked on that rooftop, he was reminded of Donatello. The hotheaded turtle's eyes drifted down to the spot where he and Mikey had found Donnie, hunched over and barely conscious, after Slash had attacked him the first time. The memory of his genius brother's battered body made Raphael's own blood come to a rapid boil. He could still remember how frail Donnie had felt against him as they had sought out cover. It was like Donnie had no strength left in him at all. Slash had beaten him so severely, Raph had had to practically drag his injured brother along the rooftops. He remembered, at one point, Donnie had actually asked them to just leave him...

" _Can't make it. Too weak. You go on without me, fellas."_

Of course, Raphael wasn't about to leave his wounded little brother, alone and defenseless, on the rooftop. No way, no how. He'd just as soon die.

The red-masked warrior had been quick to remind Donnie of their solemn vow to one another...

" _No turtle left behind. That's our rule!"_

Shortly after making that statement, all shell had broken loose. Slash had gone totally berserk and beaten the tar out of all of them, but none so much as Donatello. Even weeks later, the injuries inflicted by Slash still hindered the genius turtle's movements.

And now...

Raphael couldn't stop himself from constantly thinking about what Donnie might be going through at the hands of that evil monster. Mental pictures of Slash using poor Donatello as his personal punching bag or whipping post made the temperamental turtle feel as though he was going to burst into flames.

All the intense fury and violence Slash had exhibited the night of his transformation; Donatello was now the undeserving recipient of that pure hatred.

While the rest of the family were all safe and sound, what was happening to Donnie?

The not knowing was tearing Raphael apart inside.

Master Splinter had been desperately trying, both day and night, to reach out to Donatello via meditation, but to no avail. Raph shuddered to think what that meant. Granted, he had never been the most spiritual turtle of the family, but that didn't mean he didn't have faith. Especially in his father. If Sensei couldn't find Donnie, then –

 _No! Quit thinking like that, Raph!_

On unsteady feet, the hotheaded turtle walked towards the edge of the roof where Slash had left Donatello for dead that ill-fated night exactly one month before. It seemed like so long ago, and yet, the memory still felt as fresh as though it had happened only yesterday. In the back of his mind, Raphael could still see his missing brother's brutally beaten form propped up against the roof ledge. The image was enough to bring tears to the older turtle's eyes.

As awful as it had been to see what Slash had done to Donatello that night, Raphael found himself longing for history to repeat itself.

Why couldn't Slash have just left Donnie on that rooftop like before?

Why did he have to take their brother away?

Raph knew darn well what the answers to both of those questions were, but he didn't want to admit it. The truth only made him hate himself all the more.

But there was no denying that sickening truth. Slash had done all this solely to get back at Raphael. That despicable creep had said as much...

" _So, who do you think this'll hurt more, Raphael? Donatello or you?"_

That foreboding comment had come just seconds before the sound of Donnie's shrieks of agony filled the lair. It was a sound the turtle in red would never, ever forget. Even now, he could still hear it ringing in his ear slits.

"I'm sorry, Donnie."

Pressing his fingertips deep into the corners of his eye sockets to staunch the oncoming tears, Raph let out a gut-wrenching sob that echoed through the chilly night air. Before long, he realized there was something off about the way that single sob howled on and on. Almost as though it was getting louder rather than fading out.

When Raphael pried his eyelids back apart, he discovered that the rooftop was now engulfed in a fog so thick, he could barely see two feet in front of his face.

"What the?"

Instinctively, Raphael reached for his trusted sais, but they weren't there. This made his heart start to gallop at a highly accelerated rate. He had a really, _really_ bad feeling about this. One, he didn't remember how the heck he had gotten here, two, his voice was still eerily echoing in the air, three, he was surrounded in fog that had seemingly come from out of nowhere, and four, he was unarmed.

 _Definitely not a good combination._

Then, he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching, unnaturally slow.

 _Oh, this just keeps getting better and better..._

"Wh – Who's there?"

The echo suddenly died away, making the footfalls sound that much louder, but not nearly as blaring as the sound of Raphael's panicked breathing.

Though generally not an easily spooked turtle, Raph was feeling a bit rattled.

"I know you're here! Show yourself!"

Balling his hands into fists, once again, the ninja in red prepared to defend himself when a familiar figure stepped out of the dense fog.

The sight before him made the hotheaded turtle's heart all but stop.

"D – Donnie?"

For a few stunned seconds, Raph just stood there, mouth ajar, staring at his genius brother who was vacantly staring back.

Convinced his vision was deceiving him, Raphael blinked several dozen times before speaking again.

"Donnie! I can't believe it!"

Once the initial shock wore off, Raph rushed towards Donatello with open arms only to pass right through him. The red-masked turtle clumsily stumbled forward several feet before spinning around to see his brother hadn't budged an inch.

"Donnie?"

Donatello didn't react to his older brother's voice. The taller turtle just continued to stare blankly ahead at the same spot where Raph had just been.

Once again, the red-clad turtle attempted to make physical contact with Donatello, but all Raphael felt was cold air. It sent a shiver up and down his spine.

Raph side-stepped around his younger brother so that he was face-to-face with him again. It was then that the temperamental turtle noticed that Donatello wasn't moving. Not even a little. There was no rise or fall of his chest. No blinking of his eyes.

There was nothing.

"Wh – What's going on, Donnie? Say something!"

No response followed the command.

Trying not to freak out, Raph reached forward to touch his brother's face when Donatello's hand suddenly shot up and seized hold of the older turtle's wrist with such force, it elicited a popping sound.

Raph let out a yelp, but it was more from the start than from the pain.

Then, Donatello finally spoke; his tone harsher than anything Raphael ever remembered hearing from his gentlest brother before.

" _You_ did this to me, Raph!"

Shaking his head from side to side, Raphael could only manage to breathe out the word, "No."

"You left me to die!"

The tears the older turtle had been trying to push back earlier fell freely now.

"No! No, I – I would never do that! We've been looking for you this whole time!"

"You sent me off to my death!"

The grip around Raph's wrist grew tighter, but when he tried to pull Donatello's hand away, he couldn't grab onto him. Raphael could feel his brother's painfully rigid grasp on his lower arm, but he couldn't feel _him_.

How could that be possible?

 _Unless_...

"This – This isn't real. _You're_ not real!"

Donatello leaned in closer to Raph so their foreheads were nearly touching; his reddish-brown eyes filled with animosity. "You just don't want to admit that you're the reason I'll never be able to come home! You're the reason I'll never see our family again! This is all _your_ fault, Raph! Slash isn't the monster! _YOU_ are!"

Releasing his hold on Raphael's arm, Donatello backed several steps away from where his older brother stood trembling. The taller turtle's lanky form was already partially obscured by the fog surrounding them.

"No! NO! Don't go, Donnie! Please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything!"

"It's too late, Raph. I'm already gone."

Before Raph even had a chance to ask what that meant, Donatello disappeared into the shadows, as though he had been swallowed whole by them.

In a desperate attempt to stop Donnie from leaving, the turtle in red lunged forward into the haze, calling out his brother's name as he reached for something that just wasn't there. The fog soon lifted and Raphael realized that he was fumbling with his bed sheets.

It had all been just a dream.

No! It had been a nightmare.

This whole thing had been one horrific nightmare. One that Raphael could never truly wake from until he found his missing brother.

Without warning, Leonardo came bursting through the hotheaded turtle's bedroom door, apparently out of breath from his sprint all the way across the hall.

"I heard shouting! Are you all right?"

The question made Raphael cringe inside his shell. The truth was, he hadn't been all right for some time now, and he was sick and tired of pretending like he was.

Enough was enough.

"No, I'm not!" With that said, Raphael leapt off the bed, scooped up his sais, and stomped through the open bedroom door, nearly plowing into his older brother in his haste to leave.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

Though he seriously considered just blowing Leonardo off, Raph stopped halfway down the dormitory hall and turned towards his brother. The blue-masked turtle was now standing in the doorway of Raph's room, looking both confused and frustrated.

"I'm going to find Donnie! I can't sit around here waiting anymore!" The deep scowl rutted into Raph's face was proof enough that he was disgusted, but he threw one hand up in the air just in case there was still any doubt that he was fed up.

"Raph, be sensible about this. It's broad daylight. You can't go out there now! People will see you!" Always full of noble intentions, Leonardo was only trying to get his brother to see reason, but there was no reasoning with Hamato Raphael. Even on those rare occasions when he was in a 'good' mood.

"Then let 'em see! Donnie... He's gone because of me, Leo! I have to find him, and I'm not coming home until I do!"

"Raph, this isn't – "

Not about to let his older brother try to change his mind on the matter, Raphael cut Leo off with a growly voice.

"Zip it, Fearless! I'm leaving and you can't stop me!"

"Raph! RAPH!"

Just as the highly unstable turtle stormed out of the hall, a very sleepy Michelangelo finally made his way into it. Through droopy eyes, he watched his second oldest brother leave the lair.

"Whoa. What's goin' on?"

Leo simply groaned in response and headed straight for his father's room.

Because of Raphael's horrible temper and inability to learn from past mistakes, they now had two missing turtles to find.

* * *

The fresh supply of gauze had run out several days ago, so Donatello was forced to reuse what he had on hand. It wasn't a sanitary practice, by any means, but a necessary one. Basically, he had to remove the bandages from whichever wound on his body was healed up the most, or in some cases, bleeding the least, to cover up the more serious injuries. He was currently wrapping a rather deep cut on his forearm that he had received about ten minutes ago. A fierce backhand from Slash had sent the already woozy turtle falling into his cage, resulting in a three-inch gash across his lower arm.

After the incident, Slash had promptly locked Donatello back inside of his prison cell and walked away, claiming he needed to get something from his room. It seemed a little strange to Donnie that his captor hadn't returned yet. It wasn't like the apartment was all that big, but the brainy turtle figured he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. After all, it gave him some much-needed time to nurse his many wounds before Slash came back and started pounding on him again.

 _Lucky me_...

Donatello knew that the larger mutant was angry with him. The ferocity of the backhand to his chest had revealed as much.

It was quite evident that Slash was growing increasingly frustrated with his 'pet' turtle's recent refusal to eat, as well as his more and more frequent requests for restroom breaks. Ironically, the reason behind the rising number of bathroom requests was because Donatello was trying to avoid vomiting on the floor, which he knew from previous experience was punishable by a near-death pummeling. As unpleasant as getting backhanded and slicing your arm wide open on a metal cage had been, it was still the lesser of two evils.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Donatello continued on with his ministrations, but only for another forty-five seconds or so. That was all the time he had before Slash trudged back into the room toting a pair of rusty wire cutters.

The sight made Donatello push himself into the farthest reaches of his cage. He gulped so hard, he could've sworn he had swallowed his tongue. It was either that or maybe his heart had just gotten stuck in his throat.

"What... What are you gonna do with those?" The terror in the smaller turtle's voice was painfully obvious. It was just the reaction Slash had been hoping for.

"It's been ten days, Donnie boy. Your brothers probably think you're dead by now and stopped looking. Whatta ya say we give 'em a little something just to let 'em know you're still kicking? You know? Proof of life. How about we send 'em a tooth or two? You've already got that stupid-looking gap. What'll a couple of missing teeth matter? Or maybe we should send 'em a severed toe. Better yet, how about a finger?" Slash brandished the wire cutters several inches in front of Donatello's cage to make sure he got a good view of them.

Donnie shook his head in disbelief, trying to convince himself that Slash was just doing this to scare him, but the wicked look in larger mutant's eyes told the genius turtle all he didn't want to know.

The cage door was then yanked opened and Slash was soon dragging his extremely unwilling captive out into the middle of the living room. Slash's significant weight advantage made it easy for him to pin the much smaller mutant down to the wooden floor. He used his massive legs to hold Donatello somewhat still, while he grabbed hold of the frightened turtle's right wrist with one hand and held up the wire cutters with his other.

"So, which one will it be, Donatello? I'll let you pick."

Donnie's eyes crossed as he stared at the cutting tool now unnervingly close to his fingers. He desperately tried to pull his wrist free from Slash, but the behemoth's grip was too powerful. All the genius turtle could do was continue to stare on in dread as the wire cutters came closer and closer.

"N – No! Please don't do this! P – Please!"

"Fine, if you aren't gonna choose, then I'll just have to do it for you. I say we go with the middle one. The one you used to click your little computer mouse with all the time." The larger of the two mutants had a difficult time reigning in his amusement as he watched and felt his prisoner's hand trembling in fear.

This was just too fun. The look of utter terror frozen on the scrawny turtle's face was particularly delicious.

A series of hiccupped whimpers squeaked out of Donatello the moment he felt Slash press the sharp tips of the blades against his skin, but the genius turtle soon noticed that the cutters didn't open wide enough to fit around his thick, middle finger. For a split second, Donatello thought he might be spared this heinous act, but Slash had no intention of giving up so easily. He instead started grind the cutting tool back and forth, slowly sawing into the flesh at the base of Donatello's finger.

An earsplitting scream tore out of the back of Donatello's throat. Not so much from the pain, but from the sheer horror of the situation.

Ignoring his victim's pitiful cries, Slash continued to push on the wire cutters and shred through the skin of Donatello's forefinger. The larger mutant had already forced the blade about halfway around Donatello's finger, slicing right to the bone. Blood was running down the smaller turtle's hand and arm and was already starting to pool on the floor.

"If you don't stop your squirming, you're gonna lose a lot more than just a finger!"

As Slash made his threat, he looked down to see that the blades of the wire cutters were now pushed all the way around Donatello's finger. Slash was just about to squeeze the handle when the distraught turtle's shrill pleas momentarily distracted him.

"S – Stop! Stop! Please! Spike! I know you're still in there! P – Please! Don't let him do this!"

Upon hearing his former name, Slash's hands immediately began to shake with uncontainable rage. So much so, he was having a difficult time holding onto the wire cutters. He tried pinch the handles of the cutting tool together to finally sever the finger still trapped between the blades, but all of a sudden, it was like his hand refused to work. Almost as if some unseen force was trying to stop him.

"SHUT UP! Spike isn't here anymore!" The thunder in Slash's voice shook the very foundation of the building and his eyes blazed with sheer loathing. Still, he couldn't make the muscles in his hand contract, no matter how hard he tried.

Then, the smaller turtle had to go and open his big mouth again, making it even more difficult for Slash to string his now muddled thoughts together.

"Yes, he is! Spike, listen to me! The mutagen created Slash, but it didn't destroy _you_! Deep down inside, you're still Spike! The same turtle Raph took in! The same turtle he loved!"

That last line made Slash's breath hitch inside his throat for a few stunned seconds. When he was finally able to inhale and exhale again, he croaked out the one word that had nearly made him choke. "L – Loved?"

Donatello let out a dejected gasp before responding.

"Yes. He loved you... a lot more than h – he ever loved me."

With that said, Slash released his grip on the wire cutters as well as Donatello and they both simultaneously fell to the floor with a thump.

Once he was lying on the hardwood surface, Donatello instinctively pulled his bloodied hand against his chest and wrapped his other hand around his now-mangled finger. That was the moment the genius turtle finally lost all composure. He couldn't help it. There was only so much he could take. He curled up into a ball and started to sob uncontrollably.

Slash didn't even seem to notice Donatello's breakdown, for he was too preoccupied with staring at his still shaking hands.

All he saw was red. It stained everything in his field of vision.

After over a minute passed, the larger mutant eventually snapped out of whatever haze he had been in and his eyes drifted down to the broken turtle weeping on the floor at his feet.

For reasons he could not explain, Slash stretched a hand forward and wrapped it around Donatello's upper arm, which appeared to be hanging at an odd angle yet again. The wounded reptile instantly whimpered and cowered at the touch, drawing himself into an even tighter sphere, afraid he was going to be brutally beaten. The terrified reaction made Slash jerk his hand away as though he had been scalded by the brief physical contact.

Pushing himself up to his wobbly feet, Slash abruptly staggered out of the room and returned just a couple seconds later carrying a tattered towel. With an audible grunt, the huge creature crouched down next to Donatello's coiled up form and shoved the towel against the injured turtle's plastron. This caused the smaller mutant to lift his head up off the floor, but he did not speak. He was too traumatized to say anything.

Slash then hastily slapped the muzzle on his captive, grabbed him by the top of the carapace, and threw him inside of his cage. As soon as Slash was sure the cage door was locked and secure, he stormed towards the front entrance of the apartment and exited. All without a single word.

For the first time since being captured, Donatello had been left alone in the apartment while still in a conscious state.

For the first time in ten days, Slash had finally made a huge tactical error.

The larger mutant should've realized that when holding a certain genius turtle prisoner, one probably shouldn't leave him unsupervised with a heavy chain nearby and a pair of wire cutters carelessly lying in the middle of the living room floor.

That's just asking for trouble.

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ ***More Author's Notes: DUN DUN DUUUUN!**_ ** _/_ (⊙ . ⊙)\**

 ** _I truly hope this turn of events will rekindle some of my critics' interest. I assure you I'm trying my best to make the story entertaining._**

 ** _For those of you who are enjoying the story and have been so kind and supportive of me, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your positive feedback. It means more to me than you will ever know. Special thanks to Captain Vegeta for being my rock and my dear, dear friend. ILY!_**

 ** _As always, please take a moment to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on this story if you are enjoying it and want to see more. I could really use the encouragement…_**

 ** _Thank you all very, very much for reading. CJ_**


	15. Chapter 15 - Out There

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: Chapter 15 of 'Slash's Revenge' is here and it's got a little bit of everything – drama, humor, angst, Raph rage, and even a side of brotherly fluff._**

 ** _A giant thanks to my readers, followers, and friends. I'm so very grateful to all of you. 8)_**

 ** _CJ_**

* * *

 **Chapter 15 – Out There**

The sun had gone down several hours ago, making Raphael's search efforts slightly easier, but no less frustrating. He'd been scouring the city nonstop since storming out of the lair just before noon and had yet to turn up a single clue.

He shouldn't have been the least bit surprised…

It was the same thing, day after day, night after night.

Ever since Donatello's disappearance, the Hamato family had broken into literally hundreds of abandoned buildings in hopes of locating the missing turtle, only to find nothing.

The city was so huge, it was essentially like hunting for a needle in millions and millions of haystacks. Raph wasn't even sure where to search anymore. Everything started to look the same after a while, but still, he pushed on. Driven by his dark thoughts of Donnie lying in some cage, scared and alone.

The words from the hotheaded turtle's earlier nightmare continued to relentlessly mock him...

 _"You did this to me, Raph!"_

 _"You left me to die!"_

Once again, just hearing his little brother's voice made Raphael sick to his stomach.

 _"You sent me off to my death!"_

It may have only been a dream, but everything Donatello said had been frighteningly accurate...

 _"You just don't want to admit that you're the reason I'll never be able to come home! You're the reason I'll never see our family again! This is all your fault, Raph!"_

It was true.

 _"Slash isn't the monster! YOU are!"_

Every last word of it.

Raph _was_ the monster.

All of a sudden, the turtle in red felt his legs wobbling underneath him, like they were made of gelatin. His momentum soon came to a screeching halt and he carefully lowered himself into a sitting position before he fell down, allowing himself a much-needed chance to rest. All the while, his missing brother's voice continued to taunt him...

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _"I'm sorry."_

Wrapping his arms around his shins and pinning his legs against his chest, Raph buried his face into his knee pads. He wanted nothing more than to keep searching for Donatello, but he needed a moment to gather his wits about him.

Progress was going far slower than Raphael had hoped. Perhaps his decision to go off on his own had been a little rash, but it just didn't feel right, being back at the lair doing nothing anymore. If his little brother was out there suffering, twenty-four-seven, on account of him, shouldn't Raphael be as well?

After a few more minutes of stewing, it finally occurred to Raph that sitting around on the rooftop feeling sorry for himself was no more productive than sitting around the lair. Neither one was going to bring his little brother back.

Letting out a heavy sigh, the temperamental turtle pushed himself up to his feet just in time to see two shadowy figures approaching.

 _Great! Just great._

"How long have you two been tracking me?" There wasn't any mistaking the irritation in Raphael's tone. As usual, he made no attempt to hide his disgust.

"The fact that you had to even ask that question tells me you need to be more aware of your surroundings."

Leonardo's obvious jab at Raph's ninja skills instantly rubbed the hotheaded turtle the wrong way and he felt every muscle in his body simultaneously go rigid.

"I'm not in the mood, Leo! Just leave me alone!"

As was oftentimes the case, Raph's standoffish behavior did absolutely nothing to deter the oldest turtle. Leonardo could be just as stubborn as his volatile brother when he needed to be. "If you wanted us to just leave you alone, you probably shouldn't have brought your T-phone with!"

Rolling his eyes skyward, the red-masked turtle cursed himself for forgetting about the GPS function his genius brother had built into their mobile devices. That app was both a blessing and a curse. Raph should've known that was how his brothers had found him.

"So, I suppose you're here to try to talk me out of my decision." Though there were two turtles standing before him, Raph's eyes remained fixed on Leo. That's because he knew darn well his older brother would be the one to make the biggest stink over his blowup back at the lair.

"What you did was incredibly stupid and selfish, Raph!"

Though Raphael had been bracing himself for such a comment, it still managed to catch him off guard. His immediate reaction was to get defensive.

"Selfish? I came out here to find our brother! How is _that_ selfish?"

Leonardo blow out a sharp exhale of breath that sounded curiously like a snort before angrily tossing his hands up in the air. Of course Raphael was going to argue with him. Why should Leo have expected anything less?

"Did you honestly believe that running off, sais blazing, was gonna help find Donnie? You're no good to him if you get yourself _killed_!" As hard as the leader in blue had tried to keep his voice down, he just couldn't. Raph's actions were far too reckless not to be admonished.

"Well, it's a lot better than doing nothing! All this time, we've been waiting around for the sun to set again, we could've been looking for him!" Normally, this would've been the point during the argument where Raph would get up in Leo's face, but something compelled him not to. Instead, he walked towards the roof ledge and stared down at the streets below. There was a strangely vacant expression on his face in lieu of his usual scowl.

Leonardo, on the other hand, was still clinging tightly to his anger like a shield. Anything to hide the hurt he was feeling inside.

"Oh, would you please just listen to reason for once in your life? You know we shouldn't be up on the surface during the day! It's too risky!" This was something their father had ingrained in them ever since Leonardo could remember. And while the concept had seemed simple enough, Raph was apparently having a difficult time grasping it.

Following instructions had never been Raphael's strong suit...

"Hey! I never asked you guys to come with! I can do this on my own!" Purposely keeping his shell to his brothers, the red-clad ninja tried to push them away, both verbally and nonverbally.

"You're not the only one who misses him, Raph!"

Those nine words instantly stole the hotheaded turtle's thunder. Not just because of what had been said, but also, because of who had said it.

Raph turned and looked directly at his baby brother for the first time that night only to see tears shimmering in Mikey's bright, blue eyes.

"We may have already lost one brother… I don't want to lose another."

Hearing Mikey say they may have 'lost' Donnie made it nearly impossible for Raph to breathe. The hotheaded turtle couldn't stop himself from thinking back to the last thing Donatello had said to him in his dream...

 _"It's too late, Raph. I'm already gone."_

Was it _really_ too late?

Had they lost Donnie?

As if sensing Raph's internal strife, Mikey wrapped a hand around his big brother's forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Someone once told me you can't run away from your problems. You've gotta face 'em head on."

It took every fiber of Raph's being not to roll his eyes again. He, instead, opted to cast his gaze away from his baby brother's while a low-pitched, warning growl rumbled around in the recesses of his throat.

"I seriously don't want to hear any Splinterisms right now." The bite in Raph's tone was much softer than Mikey was accustomed to, but it was still intimidating enough to make the youngest turtle hesitate with his response.

After a few nervous gulps, Michelangelo scraped up enough courage to speak again.

"It's not a 'Splinterism.' That someone I was talking about was you, bro."

This revelation made Raph's stare meet Mikey's, once more, if only to check if his jokester brother was being serious. When Mikey's face remained neutral, the hotheaded turtle blinked stupidly several times before rasping out, "I said that?"

"Well, those weren't your _exact_ words. I mean, you told me to stop being such a pansy and said something about me needing to grow a – Um, you get the idea. Anyway, my point is, running away isn't the answer, dude. It doesn't solve anything."

Raph's iron will faltered slightly, but seconds later, he pulled his arm out of Michelangelo's loose grip and started to build his defenses right back up.

"At least it's better than sitting around on my – " the temperamental turtle paused for a moment to tone his language down to PG-level for his younger brother's sake – " _tail_ doing nothing! This is all my fault, Mikey! I need to make this right! Donnie's out there, who knows where, because of the awful things I said to him! That's why I can't go back to the lair. Not until I find him. I don't deserve to go back." Each sentence that Raphael spoke was quieter than the previous until his voice tapered off into nothing more than a whisper. Though his features were hard, the lines on his face showed the strain from trying to keep his expression indifferent; his eyes fluctuating between rage and guilt.

Leonardo moved towards Raph on cautious feet, knowing there was a good chance that his volatile brother would lash out at him for getting too close. The oldest turtle then reached out and rested a hand on top of Raphael's left shoulder. Much to Leo's surprise, his hotheaded brother remained stock-still, like a solemn statue, staring straight ahead.

"I know you think you're to blame for what happened, Raph. But punishing yourself like this – it isn't gonna help Donnie. He needs you to be strong."

"What good is being strong if we don't have a clue where he is? At least if I keep looking, I increase our chances of finding him. I _need_ to do this, Leo. Because staying down in the lair – I can't do it anymore. I need to be out here, doing _something_." The words held no trace of anger, just defeat. Raph dipped his head down to avoid eye contact, trying to mask his grief as best he could, but his brothers could see it as plain as the green on his skin.

"Then we'll all look together." Leonardo tightened his grip on Raph's shoulder, which only made the hotheaded turtle's posture sag all the more.

"I can't ask you guys to do that. _This_! This is all on me." The response couldn't have possibly contained anymore remorse, even if the red-masked warrior had tried.

"This isn't about who's at fault, Raph. This is about making our family whole again. We do this as a team. Remember our rule? No turtle left behind."

Being reminded of the very rule that he had cited to Donnie the night Slash had first attacked them almost caused the dam holding back Raphael's emotions to crumble. He pulled out of his older brother's grasp and tried to walk away, but Mikey and Leo each grabbed a hold of one of his arms.

From behind him, Raphael suddenly heard a strange, crinkling sound. Before he could glance back to see what it was, a crumpled, nasty-looking paper bag was dangling inches in front of his face.

Despite the fact that neither of his brothers could see his expression, Raph still wrinkled up his beak in repulsion and glared daggers at the bag. "What the heck is this?"

"Since you totally missed breakfast, lunch, _and_ supper, I packed you a little something. A dude's gotta eat, right? Especially if we're gonna be out here all night and day."

Though he tried to fight it off, a warm smile stretched across Raph's face. Even when things seemed at their darkest, Mikey could always bring light to any situation.

Shifting his smile into the slightest of smirks, Raph spun on his heels so he was facing his brothers once again. The bag followed, as if of its own volition, which he knew wasn't actually the case. It was just Mikey being a goob.

Raph took a giant step backwards to distance himself from the rather foul-smelling paper bag. "Why does it look like it's leaking?"

A small, nervous chuckle squeaked out of Mikey.

"We, uh, didn't have any clean plastic containers, so I just kind of threw a bunch of stuff into the bag. There's a leftover slice of pizza, some ramen noodles, a pickle, a chili-cheese burrito... Oh, and a popsicle for dessert!"

Both Leo and Raph's mouths curled into grimaces as they recoiled away from the soggy bag, afraid the thing was going to drip on them.

Just as the oldest turtle opened his mouth to politely suggest they save the contents of the bag for later, he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. Whipping his head around at almost breakneck speed, Leonardo scanned the rooftops surrounding them, but nothing was there.

Maybe it was just paranoia, but the leader in blue could've sworn he had seen movement.

Raphael was the first to notice Leonardo's sudden interest in the adjacent buildings. "What is it, Leo?"

"I – I'm not sure. I thought I saw something."

The two younger turtles drew closer to their blue-masked brother and visually scanned the area, but they, too, failed to spot anything out of the ordinary.

"Probably was just a pigeon." The bluntness of Raph's response forewarned that anger wasn't far behind.

Rather than test his hotheaded brother's chronically thin patience, Leonardo decided to drop the subject. "Yeah, probably." There was an unspoken 'let's get moving' in the blue-masked ninja's tone that neither of his brothers questioned.

Still, even as the three turtles started bounding from rooftop to rooftop, the leader couldn't shake the sudden gut-feeling that someone was out there, watching them from a distance.

Five buildings later, Leonardo's intuition proved to be true.

That's when the brothers heard a familiar voice call out, stopping all three of them dead in their tracks.

* * *

At first, he had to do a double-take. He hadn't seen any of the siblings out on their own since he had kidnapped the scrawny one. The handful times he had left the apartment to forage for supplies, he had used his keen tracking skills to hunt down the three brothers for the sole purpose of checking up on their progress. If one could even call it 'progress.' There was no way they were ever going to find Donatello at the rate they were moving, not to mention they'd been searching in the totally wrong direction the whole time. It was as if they didn't want to find their precious brother.

Slash's immense shoulders racked with a silent laugh as he edged closer to the lone turtle now sitting on the rooftop not far from where the larger reptile slithered along the shadows.

It would be so easy to swoop in for the kill. To strike while Raphael was alone and not paying attention.

But something stopped Slash from doing so. Something Donatello had said back at the apartment...

 _"S – Stop! Stop! Please! Spike! I know you're still in there! P – Please! Don't let him do this!"_

 _"SHUT UP! Spike isn't here anymore!"_

 _"Yes, he is! Spike, listen to me! The mutagen created Slash, but it didn't destroy you! Deep down inside, you're still Spike! The same turtle Raph took in. The same turtle he loved!"_

 _"L – Loved?"_

 _"Yes. He loved you... a lot more than h – he ever loved me."_

Keeping his beady eyes glued on Raphael, Slash dared to creep even closer, so that just the street separated the two of them. It looked as though the smaller turtle was trying to curl himself up into a ball, with his legs drawn towards his chest and his face pressed into his knees. Even if Slash had been standing right out in the open, the turtle in red would've been completely oblivious to his presence.

It was evident that Raphael was distraught, but rather than finding the red-masked turtle's suffering amusing, like he had before, Slash felt a pang of something akin to guilt stab straight through him. This confused the larger mutant more than anything, although he didn't have a whole lot of time to ponder the strange sensation. Not after he spotted Leonardo and Michelangelo slowly approaching Raphael. The mere sight of the 'fearless' leader made Slash instantly shift into angry-mode; a sentiment he was much more well-versed in.

Dropping down into a low crouch, so as to stay hidden in the shadows cast by a billboard sign, Slash watched on while Raphael pushed himself up to his feet. The sadness the red-clad turtle had exhibited was now gone, replaced by unmistakable anger, much like Slash's mood had shifted just moments before.

Slash couldn't quite make out what the three brothers were saying to one another, but he could see that the two oldest turtles were arguing, as usual. More than likely, Leonardo was chewing his brother out for not being a good little soldier, and Raphael, in turn, was no doubt expressing his genuine lack of appreciation for the comments.

It looked as if the hotheaded turtle was readying to clobber his big brother a good one when Raphael suddenly turned away from his siblings and walked towards the edge of the building, blankly gazing over the side of the structure they were gathered on.

This sparked Slash's curiosity and he unknowingly started to lift his head up, as if attempting to hear the actual conversation.

It wasn't until the youngest turtle spoke that Raphael spun around to face his brothers again. Slash could see by his former 'owner's' droopy posture that the sadness had returned, clearly indicating that something the littlest one had said must have struck a chord. Then, Michelangelo reached out and grabbed hold of Raphael's arm. The hotheaded turtle's immediate response was to twist his head away, but only for a moment or two. When the youngest sibling spoke again, Raphael's eyes were back on him. A few more verbal exchanges followed before the temperamental turtle pulled his arm away, but the leader in blue was quick to butt in.

Slash had to muffle a growl.

 _Of course, Mr. Perfect can't keep his big mouth shut..._

Certain that Raphael was going to tear into the eldest brother something fierce, Slash gazed on with unmasked anticipation, thirsting for an epic fight. But much to the largest mutant's disappointment, no confrontation followed. He stared in wide-eyed disbelief as Leonardo appeared to be comforting Raphael. Never one to accept sympathy, the hotheaded turtle soon attempted to walk away from the leader, but the blue and orange-masked brothers were quick to stop Raphael's momentum. The youngest sibling then held something up in front of his second oldest brother's face. It looked to be a paper bag, but Slash couldn't tell for sure.

Shifting himself up to his feet, the huge, spike-covered mutant strained to see what it was that Michelangelo was toting, but the distance spanning between them made it impossible to be certain. Slash unwittingly crept away from the shadows concealing him, trying to get a better view. That's when he saw Leonardo's muscles suddenly tense. Lightning fast reflexes allowed Slash to duck behind a roof vent just as the blue-clad turtle's gaze snapped towards where the larger mutant had been standing only a half-second ago.

Slash held his breath while he leaned the back of his head against the cool surface of the large roof vent, keeping his fingers crossed that the eldest brother hadn't spotted him. It wasn't that Slash didn't think he could take on the three smaller terrapins. He just hadn't gone out looking for a fight.

 _At least, not tonight..._

All he had been trying to do was get some fresh air to clear his head, but seeing Raphael just seemed to make things even more complicated than before. Slash had never felt so conflicted inside. The sheer rage that had been fueling him for weeks still burned as bright as ever, but it was somehow different than before.

Something had changed...

Letting out a ragged exhale, Slash found himself staring down at his hands, once again, and for the second time that night, all he could see was red.

Only this time, it wasn't blood that he was staring at.

It was the fabric of an eerily familiar kimoto, and much to Slash's horror, the oversized rodent donning the traditional Japanese garment looked to being seeing red as well.

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ ***More Author's Notes: I really wanted to end the year with a bang, so I went with a major cliffhanger. I hope you all approve.**_ **（＊〇.** **〇）** **…** **！**

 _ **As always, please take a moment to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment if you're enjoying this or any of my other stories. I would absolutely love to know.**_

 _ **Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate it more than words can possibly say. I wish everyone the happiest of holiday seasons. *virtual hugs and cookies* CJ**_


	16. Chapter 16 -Look What the Rat Dragged In

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: I'm back with a new chapter of 'Slash's Revenge' and it's a super intense one._**

 ** _Okay, I know some of you are chomping at the bit to find out what's going to happen next, so let's just jump right into the chapter, shall we?_**

 ** _Thanks so much for reading, everyone!_ (O** **ᴗO** **)**

 ** _CJ_**

* * *

 **Chapter 16 – Look What the Rat Dragged In**

" _ **Where**_ is my son?"

The ominous growl poisoning the giant rat's tone sent a shudder up and down Slash's spine. The massive turtle could see the furious glint in the Ninjutsu master's close-set eyes as he awaited an answer to his question. But before Slash could even think to respond, there was something pressing against his neck, making voluntary movement an impossibility.

"Leonardo! Raphael! Michelangelo!"

Slash could only stare slack-jawed at the mutant paralyzing him while the names of the three turtles the rodent had called out for echoed through the night air. Before long, the sound of the brothers approaching could be heard, and thanks to their father, the largest turtle couldn't do a darn thing about it, other than maybe drool a little.

"Sensei?!" Though all three brothers had simultaneously cried out the word, the youngest turtle's voice carried the loudest, as usual.

"Over here, my sons!"

A wave of panic washed over Slash. The immobilized mutant was totally defenseless when he heard the thunderous roar to his right.

" **YOU!** "

Muscles still seized up, Slash wasn't able to block the incoming blow from the turtle in red. The bigger mutant suddenly felt himself flattened out on the rooftop as a pair of fists pistoned into him without mercy.

" **WHERE IS HE?** " Keeping Slash pinned beneath him, Raphael unleashed his fury in the most violent means possible. Punch after punch connected, bruising and breaking the skin of both turtles.

Never in all his life had the red-masked ninja felt so much raw rage consume him.

"Raphael! Calm yourself!"

The order from his father did nothing to dissuade the hotheaded turtle's fury. He continued driving his knuckles into his former pet with bone-breaking force, wanting desperately to make Slash feel the pain that _he_ had.

" **WHERE! IS! HE!?** "

If not for Michelangelo and Leonardo peeling him off, Raphael would've pounded the largest mutant into nothing more than dust. Even as his brothers dragged him backwards, the red-masked turtle continued to throw punches into the air. Both Leo and Mikey did their best stay out of harm's way, but it wasn't easy. Raphael was like a wild animal, kicking and writhing in a frenzied attempt to break free.

" **LET ME GO**!"

As Raph continued to thrash about in Leo and Mikey's grip, Slash pushed himself partially up off the rooftop surface and leered at the turtle in red. The smirk splayed on the largest mutant's face just about sent Raphael over the edge and his brothers could barely hold him back.

" **I'M GONNA TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!** "

The threat made Slash's smirk start to grow.

"Are you sure you wanna do that, Raphael? I mean, I _am_ the only one who knows where Donatello is. If you do anything to me, your brother will die."

Mikey's bright, blue eyes widened at this. He had thought seeing the monster that had taken his brother away would make him angry. Like Raphael-angry, but he felt more scared than anything.

Scared to find out the truth…

"Is… Is Donnie okay?"

There was so much hope filling Michelangelo's fragile heart, he was sure he'd be crushed beyond repair if Slash were to answer anything but 'yes' to his question.

"Heh. That all depends on your definition of okay. He's still alive, if that's what you're asking, but he's never gonna be the same after what I did to him."

Unable to form any actual words in response, Mikey let out a strangled-sounding gasp and covered his mouth with his shaking hands, leaving Leonardo to try to contain Raphael on his own.

No simple task…

"Awww, are you gonna cry, Michelangelo? And here I thought your scrawny brother was the pathe – " Before Slash could finish insulting Donatello, his airway was abruptly closed off. Not by a certain red-masked turtle, but rather, by a very, very ticked off rat.

" _ **TELL ME**_ where my _**SON**_ is."

Master Splinter loosened his grip around Slash's throat just enough to allow the bigger mutant to respond, but not so much that the behemoth turtle could breathe easily. Something about the unhinged expression Slash was on the receiving end of frightened the heck out of him, but he managed to cloak his fear with bitterness.

"He's safe in his cage, where he belongs. Don't worry. I've been taking _real_ good care of him. Me and Donnie boy spent so much quality time together, you probably won't even recognize him anymore."

With that said, the tension around Slash's neck grew noticeably tighter, but he could tell that the humanoid rat was holding back. This was most likely because the Ninjutsu master realized he couldn't chance seriously injuring the vile beast in his grasp. At least, not until Slash revealed Donatello's location.

Suddenly, the largest mutant wasn't feeling quite as intimidated as before and his confidence began to swell right along with the smirk across his face.

"Not that you're ever gonna see him again."

Though the rat's emotionless expression looked as though it had been carved out of stone, there was savageness residing in his dark, unblinking eyes.

"Just tell us where my son is, and I assure you, no harm will come to you."

This declaration made a growl rip out of Raphael's throat, raw and fierce. His father was making a promise the red-masked turtle couldn't keep. There was no way in shell he was going to let Slash walk away from this situation unscathed. Not after everything that monster had put their family through.

Slash would bleed for what he had done.

Raphael would personally see to that.

Perhaps thinking along the same line as his hotheaded brother, Leonardo's once steadfast grip all of a sudden faltered, giving Raph virtually unfettered access to launch another attack on Slash.

And that he did…

The vicious tackling maneuver courtesy of Hamato Raphael was powerful enough to knock Slash right out of Master Splinter's grip and send the huge reptile crashing shell down onto the rooftop. Ignoring his father's repeated demands for him to stop, Raphael pounced on top of Slash and proceeded to shove his forearm against the bigger mutant's neck, effectively holding the giant down. The now homicidal-looking warrior in red leaned in so close to his rival, Slash could see the bloodshot veins branching out from the corners of Raphael's mostly white eyes.

Slash had never seen so much sheer hatred pouring off his former best friend.

It was glorious!

The exact reaction Slash had been hoping for from the get-go, which made the moment all too rewarding.

"Go ahead, Raphael. _Snap_ my neck! You know you want to." There was a demeaning purr in Slash's tone that made it nearly impossible to refuse his oh so tempting offer. Without even realizing it, Raph began to increase the pressure he was placing on the larger turtle's throat.

Though Master Splinter had never had the displeasure of meeting 'Slash' before this evening, he readily recognized the hold this creature had over his second oldest son and it infuriated him that his temperamental child was too blinded by his own anger to see such blatant manipulation.

"RAPHAEL! Control yourself!"

"Awww, come on, Raphael. You've been waiting all this time for revenge. Now's your chance. Or are you too much of a coward to defy daddy's orders?"

Raph's entire body began to shake, as though it was taking every fiber of his being to stop himself from killing the mutant trapped beneath him. In all truthfulness, it was. It would be so easy to just end _this_. One good thrust would ensure that Slash would never hurt them again.

"Do NOT listen to him, my son! He is only saying these things to get under your skin, but you must not give in to your rage. That is precisely what _he_ wants you to do. Remember, if you kill him, you may very likely be sentencing your brother to death as well! I know you crave vengeance, but at what cost?"

Eyes trailing down to his forearm pushed tautly against Slash's neck, Raphael tried to swallow past the thick lump growing inside his throat. His gaze then traveled up to Slash's face, only it wasn't Slash that Raph was seeing. In his mind, Donatello was now staring up at him; red, swollen eyes silently begging for mercy. The sight made Raphael instantly pull his arm away from Slash, as though he had been badly burned.

"I knew it! You're nothing but a coward, just like your weakling brother. I got him so trained now, he doesn't even bother to fight back. He just lays there while I beat him into the ground, over and over and over – "

A livid roar abruptly cut Slash's taunting short, but it didn't come from the turtle one would've expected.

Much to everyone's shock, it had come from the levelheaded leader in blue.

" **SHUT UP!** _You're_ the _coward_! Where's the honor in kidnapping someone and beating them senseless when they're already too injured to defend themselves? You're a spineless monster!"

"Ha! You've never given a damn about Donatello. All you care about is yourself! Speaking of not caring, I made sure to set old Donnie boy straight on how none of you cared enough about him to even bother looking for him. The devastated look on his face was priceless."

No sooner had the words passed Slash's jagged lips when Raphael's hands wrapped around the larger turtle's throat and began choking the life out of him. With his airway completely cut off, Slash couldn't even manage to laugh at the irate reaction. All he was able to do was wheeze for a breath he couldn't take in. Moments later, his vision started to gray around the edges and he watched his eyelids slide shut for what he assumed was the very last time. But just as he was about to lose consciousness, an earsplitting voice startled him back to life, like a pair of touchless defibrillators.

" **YAME!** "

The force around Slash's throat disappeared and he soon felt the weight on top of him fall away. Slowly, he blinked his eyesight back into focus and turned his head to see Raphael twitching on the rooftop beside him. For a good thirty seconds or so, the two downed mutants just peered up at the outraged rat looming over them until Raphael was finally able to regain partial control of his movements once again.

" **WHY, SENSEI?!** " The question sounded like an animal howling out in pain with a feral expression to boot, but the turtle in red received no sympathy from his father. Only indignation.

"It was your inability to contain your temper that put your brother's life in peril to begin with, Raphael! Now, you risk losing him for the temporary satisfaction of retribution? Have you learned nothing from what has transpired?"

Though Master Splinter did not wish to admonish his second oldest son in front of an audience, Raphael had left him with little choice.

As to be expected, the most stubborn of Splinter's children still refused to listen to reason.

"All I need to know is that _this_ psycho has been torturing my brother! And for that, he deserves to _die_!" Needlessly flicking a thumb in the direction of the humongous turtle still lying next to him, Raphael's eyes narrowed into nothing more than icy slits that remained zeroed in on his father.

Master Splinter let out a low, rattly growl before responding.

"It is not up to you or I to decide what _he_ may or may not deserve. I assure you that my soul burns with just as much hatred as yours over what he has done to Donatello, but I will not allow that hatred to cloud my judgment or endanger my child's life any further. The _only_ thing that should be of any concern to us right now is finding your brother!"

Pushing himself up to his feet, Raphael dared to edge within inches of his father. An offense that would surely not be taken lightly, but any sense of fear Raph may have once had was buried somewhere deep beneath his overwhelming anger. The threat of punishment – no matter how severe – no longer frightened him in any way, shape, or form.

"What makes you think that _monster_ is gonna tell us anything? He's got no intention of helping us find Donnie! So why not just let me try to _beat_ the truth out of him?! If he dies in the process, it'll be an added bonus!"

The sound of the hotheaded turtle cracking his knuckles in eager anticipation only served to further frustrate his already agitated father.

"Raphael, I have always taught you and your brothers that there is no monster more dangerous than a lack of compassion."

Balling his hands into white-knuckled fists, Raphael tried and failed to curb his anger, but it came thundering out in rant form.

"Compassion!? You heard what he did to Donnie the night he took him! How could any of us possibly forget the sound of him screaming in pain? I know I never will! And that heartless _thing_ you want me to show compassion to – He's the one who made Donnie scream like that. Not to mention he's the one who's been keeping my brother – _your_ son – in a cage all this time! A _cage_ , Sensei! Like some kind of animal! So, do _**NOT**_ ask me to show _him_ even an ounce of mercy!"

There was no doubt in Raphael's mind that he was treading some seriously dangerous waters by demonstrating such blatant disrespect towards his father, but the turtle in red couldn't bring himself to care.

Master Splinter's features darkened slightly, but he managed to rein in his temper far better than his second oldest son had. Still, Sensei's tone promised grim consequences if his son's insolence were to continue.

"I am not asking you, Raphael! I am _telling_ you. Until we find your brother, you are not to attack his captor again. Have I made myself understood?"

A snarl sounded out from Raphael, and for a split-second, it actually looked as though he was considering challenging Master Splinter, but the youngest turtle was quick to intervene, insinuating himself between his father and his hotheaded brother.

"Raph! Stop it! Just stop it! Like Sensei said, all we should be concerned about right now is finding Donnie." Big, pleading, blue eyes shifted down towards the rooftop and Mikey couldn't help but stare at his missing brother's tormentor, who was just sitting there, silently taking in the scene. "Please, Slash. Please! Just tell us where he is."

Mouth twisting into an arrogant sneer, Slash gazed up at the youngest brother so the little brat could see just how pleased he was with himself. A well-timed streak of lightning split across the sky, making Slash's expression all the more sadistic.

A storm was brewing, both literally and figuratively.

"I'll never tell you anything! Your brother is as good as dead. If he doesn't bleed to death first, he'll die of infection or starvation." A brief pause followed Slash's harsh words. Just long enough for him to savor the hurt look on the smallest turtle's face before continuing. "Unless... you set me free. It's your choice, Michelangelo. Leave Donatello to die or let me go. What's it gonna be?"

Knowing full well Slash was trying to exploit Mikey's sentimental nature, Raph placed a hand on his baby brother's plastron and gently pushed him a few steps backwards. The hotheaded turtle then moved in front of his youngest sibling to protect him, using his body a shield. Raphael wasn't about to let Slash hurt Mikey. It was bad enough he had already let that monster hurt Donnie.

"Do you honestly believe we're just gonna let you go so you can continue torturing our brother?!" Each word of Raph's question shook with uncontrollable fury. A clear indication he was struggling to stop himself from trying to strangle Slash again.

"At least he'll stand a fighting chance. If you keep me here, he'll probably be dead within a couple of days. Is that what you want, Raphael?"

A stern glance from his father stopped the hotheaded turtle's response cold, so Leonardo seized this opportunity to take his turn at reasoning with the monster at their feet.

"All we want is our brother back, Slash. Please, don't do this. Donnie – He never did anything to hurt you. He doesn't deserve to die." Leonardo's sapphire eyes shimmered in the light being cast down from a nearby billboard sign. His somber expression divulged just how worried he was about his missing brother, but it did nothing to appeal to Slash's conscience. If anything, the leader's show of weakness amused the largest mutant.

"Heh! I like the sound of you begging, Leonardo. Go ahead. Beg some more." Sitting up a little straighter, Slash eagerly awaited Leonardo's response, only to be disappointed by the defeat in the blue-clad ninja's tone.

"I'll do whatever you want if you just tell us where Donnie is."

Spurred on by the family's sudden hands-off approach, Slash boldly pushed himself up to his feet. Four sets of suspicious eyes watched him just as intently as he watched them, but no one actually made a motion to stop him from standing. Apparently, the rat's warning had been enough to scare all three brothers into submission. Something Slash was darn well going to take advantage of.

There came a rumble of thunder in the distance, and a few seconds later, heavy drops of rain began to plunge down from above, but Slash didn't even notice. His sights were set on the leader in blue.

"Nice try, Fearless. I already said I'm not telling you anything. Your brother can rot in his cage for all I care." The biggest mutant half-expected the Ninjutsu master to render him paralyzed again for saying what he had, but the only one Slash managed to get out a rise out of was Raphael.

 _No surprise there..._

"It's me you're angry with, Slash! Not Donnie! Let my brother go!" The words held more desperation than rage, but Slash could still see the hate burning in Raphael's emerald green eyes. That hate just inspired Slash to keep pushing the red-masked turtle towards his breaking point.

"But where would be the fun in that? I've grown rather fond of kicking the shell out of your brother. He takes a beating so well. Hey! You wanna know what Donnie boy was doing when I left him? Lying on the floor, bleeding and crying like a baby. Bet the stupid, little wimp still is."

With that said, Slash stood tall, just waiting for the imminent attack.

But it never came…

Instead, Raphael's expression softened into something Slash hadn't seen since before his mutation.

"I'm sorry, Slash. Sorry for everything I did to make you so bitter. I – I know I wasn't perfect. Far from it, but I tried to take care of you the best I could. Believe me, I did. I thought you knew that. I thought we were friends… Please! If you ever cared about me at all, please, just tell me where Donnie is. I'm begging you, Spike!"

The usage of his former name made Slash's breath hitch in his steadily tightening throat. Donatello's words from earlier once again repeated inside the largest mutant's head...

" _S – Stop! Stop! Please! Spike! I know you're still in there! P – Please! Don't let him do this!"_

" _SHUT UP! Spike isn't here anymore!"_

" _Yes, he is! Spike, listen to me! The mutagen created Slash, but it didn't destroy you! Deep down inside, you're still Spike! The same turtle Raph took in. The same turtle he loved!"_

" _L – Loved?"_

" _Yes. He loved you... a lot more than h – he ever loved me."_

Peering up at Raphael, Slash found himself wondering if Donatello's claims had been true, but his brain was quick to deny the allegation.

 _No! If Raphael cared so damn much about me, why did he choose_ _ **them**_ _over me?_

 _He betrayed me!_

But what if the turtle Raphael was currently pleading to wasn't gone, like Slash had thought?

What if there was some part of Spike still left inside Slash?

Why did he suddenly feel different every time someone mentioned _that_ name?

For a moment, Slash found himself lost in the now gentle look in Raphael's eyes that had once been the norm.

That look had always made Slash feel as though he was special.

Like he belonged…

But that had all changed the night of his transformation...

" _That mutagen warped your brain, Spike. This isn't you!"_

" _But I wanna fight you! You're not Spike. You're some kind of warped monster! A deranged, hideous freak!"_

" _I'd rather be like my brothers than you any day."_

" _We are nothing alike! You're pure evil!"_

The words brought Slash's blood to a rapid boil.

Raphael had turned on him, like their bond had never meant a thing.

As far as Slash was concerned, that was the precise moment any trace of Spike had died.

That was the moment the turtle in red had become Slash's most despised enemy.

Even if there had been a time Slash had cared about Raphael, it didn't matter anymore.

Not after all that had happened.

"You can beg all you want, Raphael! I'll never tell you a damn thing! Your brother's gonna die because of you! How does that feel?"

The momentary silence that followed spoke volumes about Raphael's pain. He peered up at Slash and the rain now pouring down in sheets camouflaged any tears that may had inadvertently slipped past his mask. When the hotheaded turtle finally managed to find his voice, it came out in a croaky-sounding gasp.

"Spike... Please."

" _ **Stop**_ calling me _**that**_!" Slash balled his huge hands into fists, eager to slam them into Raphael's face, much the way he had done to Donatello, over and over again. But the red-clad turtle didn't move a muscle. He didn't cower in fear or whimper the way Donatello did every time Slash drew near. Raphael just stood there, ready for whatever Slash was about to dish out.

It was like the hotheaded turtle _wanted_ to take the hit.

Just like his little brothers had done for him the night Slash had first attacked them...

" _Slash! You see! That's what real friends do! They stand up for each other! I'd rather be like my brothers than you any day."_

A puzzled expression swept across the bigger mutant's face as he stared wide-eyed at Raphael.

"I'm sorry for hurting you, Slash. If you have to punish someone for what happened, I'm right here. Don't punish Donnie for what I did to you."

For a moment, Slash almost felt guilty for all the pain he had inflicted upon Donatello, but he quickly reminded himself that this was all about revenge. It didn't matter if there was collateral damage, so long as it made Raphael suffer.

"I'll tell you what. If the four of you swear you won't follow me, I'll go back to taking care of your brother. It's the only way he gets out of this alive. So, have we got ourselves a deal? My freedom for your brother's life?"

Two pairs of fierce, green eyes were locked in a battle of wills. Neither Raphael nor Slash were about to give Donatello up.

"You know I can't do that, Slash. I won't let you hurt him anymore." Determination cascading off him like the heavy rainfall from the clouds above, Raph firmly planted his feet, as though trying to make himself an impenetrable wall.

But Raphael wasn't the only hopelessly stubborn turtle standing on that rooftop…

Slash's pointy mouth twisted into a fleeting grin as he loomed over Raphael for several drawn-out seconds. The larger mutant's raspy voice dripped with false concern as he spoke. "Even if that means leaving poor, little Donatello to die?"

Muscles corded with tension, Raphael got right up in Slash's face, not the least bit intimidated by the size difference between them.

"I _**WILL**_ find him! With or without your help!"

"Yeah, but you'll never get to him in time! He'll be long dead and his blood will be on your hands!"

A loud gasp from Michelangelo made Slash's next words particularly sweet. "It's probably better if he dies. Even if you do manage to find him, he'll never trust any of you again! Especially _you_ , Raphael. You should've seen how crushed he was when I told him how much you despised him. How you were always telling me you were ashamed of him and hated the fact that he was your brother."

Raphael suddenly found himself speechless, again. Not necessarily because of what Slash had said, but because of the haunting memory of what he himself had said to Donatello the night of his capture...

" _All you ever do is put everyone in danger, Donnie! You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch! You're the reason Spike's gone! I lost my best friend because of you! It was all your fault! If you weren't such a walking disaster, he'd still be here!"_

Those cruel words had made the genius turtle flee the lair, no doubt because he had thought his own brother couldn't stand him.

If Slash had spent the last ten days further convincing Donatello that Raphael hated him –

The hotheaded turtle couldn't bear the thought. Turning his head away from Slash, Raphael stared down at the ground and let the rain continue to hide his tears.

"What's the matter, Raphael? Did I upset you?" The condescending way Slash spoke strangely had little to no effect on the turtle in red. It did, however, have a rather profound effect on the turtle in red's father.

"All I did was tell your brother the truth! At least he'll die knowing how – "

" **SHIZUKANI!** " A furious voice far louder than the thunder clamoring from above sounded out and all eyes were on the drowned-looking rat. An instant later, that same rat's voice was calm as can be, as though someone else was speaking. "I would like a moment to speak with Slash in private." As Master Splinter announced his intentions, he gestured towards the egress door that lead to an interior stairway of the building.

With a wicked gleam twinkling in his eyes, Slash laughed out loud at the obvious intimidation tactic. He knew the brothers' precious sensei wasn't going to actually do anything to him. Not so long as Donatello was still missing.

"You can try all you want. You'll never get me to talk."

"If you are so sure of this, then you should have no objections to joining me in the stairwell." Once again, Splinter gestured towards the door.

Not the least bit daunted, Slash just shrugged his shoulders and strolled towards the staircase entrance.

In true ninja fashion, Master Splinter followed the enormous turtle like a shadow and quickly latched the door shut behind them in an obvious effort to keep his sons out.

Exactly thirty-seven seconds passed before Master Splinter pushed the stairwell door back open. He then stepped out onto the rooftop, pulling Slash along by the lip of his shell like he was a naughty child.

A smirk somewhere between smug and devilish played on the rat's thin lips as he released his hold on the larger mutant's carapace.

"Slash has agreed to show us where Donatello is."

All three brothers exchanged confused glances, but said nothing. They just silently followed as Slash led the way.

Finally, they were going to find their genius brother.

The only question was, would they get there in time?

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 _ ***More Author's Notes: Yes, it's another cliffhanger. I'm sorry. Please forgive me, but this part of the story is a bit dramatic. The next installment is no exception. I'll warn everyone in advance, it's another intense one.**_

 _ **I really, really hope you liked this chapter and that you're enjoying this story. Please let me know. I truly appreciate any favorites, follows, likes, reblogs, reviews, and/or comments you send me. The positive feedback always makes my day.**_

 _ **Thank you to the moon and back for all your endless kindness and support. I'm so grateful to all of you. Take care.**_ **8}**

 _ **CJ**_


	17. Chapter 17 - Reality Check

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: The new installment of 'Slash's Revenge' is here and it's a bit of a roller coaster ride._**

 ** _Before we delve into the chapter, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who nominated my stories for the 2018 TMNT Universal Reader's Choice Awards. OMGeeeeeee! I'm so very touched by the nominations I received. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all my readers, followers, and friends. Thank you all so much. I also want to congratulate my fellow nominees. I'm incredibly blessed and honored to be amongst so many insanely talented writers_** **.** **❤ (◍•** **ᴗ** **•◍)**

 ** _Okay, I'm getting all emotional here. We'd better move onto the chapter. I truly hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading!_** **=)**

 ** _CJ_**

* * *

 **Chapter 17 – Reality Check**

Leonardo had to wonder if he was the only one starting to think they were being led on a wild 'turtle' chase. They'd been trailing behind Slash at a relentless pace for a good twenty minutes now and it didn't appear as though he was going to let up anytime soon.

The largest of the five mutants leaping from rooftop to rooftop had guided everyone to a part of New York City the ninja brothers weren't overly familiar with.

 _There's a good reason for that..._

A shudder crept along the blue-masked turtle's spine as he glanced at the scores of rundown buildings they were darting past. Most of the structures in the vicinity appeared to be on their last leg; hardly stable enough to support the weight of a pigeon let alone four mutant turtles and a human-sized rat.

One thing was for sure, if Donnie was indeed being held captive in this section of the city, it would explain why his family hadn't located him yet. Even the Shredder's lowlife cronies knew better than to hang out in a place like this. Leonardo was willing to bet that that was exactly why Slash had chosen this particular neighborhood.

 _Less likelihood of being found…_

Of course, Slash could have just as soon been leading them straight into a trap.

Shifting his steely, sapphire eyes forward, Leo fixed a glare on Slash, who continued to hurdle across buildings with practiced ease. The fact that Slash seemed to know the area like the back of his palm made the leader in blue furrow his forehead in deep thought. His brother's kidnapper had clearly been to this location on multiple occasions, but Leonardo wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. If Donnie was being kept somewhere nearby, Slash had probably made this trip numerous times. But then again, the psychotic turtle might have purposely been leading them away from their missing brother, heading for a location he knew better than any of them on the off chance he might be able to give them the slip.

Master Splinter may have been duped into believing Slash was leading them to Donatello, but Leonardo didn't buy it. As far as the ninja in blue was concerned, trusting the monster who had terrorized and tortured his missing brother was suicide.

This was just plain crazy.

Leo wasn't about to let his family fall victim to the same fate as poor Donnie.

" **EVERYONE!** **STOP**!" Despite Leonardo's commanding tone, his family continued to sprint along the rooftops, afraid of losing Slash if they slowed down, even a little. The lighting in this part of the city was minimal at best, and with the rain coming down in sheets, it would've been all too easy for the largest mutant to disappear into the night.

They needed to stay vigilant.

The turtle in blue was about to repeat his command when Slash unexpectedly came to a screeching halt and stood frozen like a statue. The family followed suit, stopping a couple feet behind Slash, whose back remained turned to them.

"What the heck did you stop us for, Leo?" There was no mistaking Raphael's patience was long gone. If his yelling wasn't proof enough, the deranged look in his eyes was.

Leo's features hardened as if he was bracing himself for a fight.

"Do you seriously think he's gonna actually lead us to Donnie?"

Not wanting an ill-timed argument between his two oldest boys to distract them from the critical task at hand, Master Splinter stepped forward and calmly tried to diffuse the situation.

"Slash assured me he would show us where he has been keeping Donatello."

Though Leonardo was not generally in the habit of questioning his father, he felt his family's safety warranted it.

"With all due respect, Sensei, I don't believe a word that monster says! Have you forgotten that he tried to kill all of us?" Casting an arm in Slash's direction, just in case there was any doubt who the 'monster' he had been referring to was, Leonardo twisted his face into a bitter scowl. Upon further inspection, one might have accused him of pouting, but the rain was doing an admirable job of protecting Leo's secret.

"I understand your misgivings, Leonardo, but I have made it abundantly clear to Slash that any form of deception on his part will have dire consequences."

This comment sparked Michelangelo's curiosity.

"But you talked to him for like thirty seconds."

"Yes. I can be _very_ persuasive."

Momentarily flicking their gazes towards one another, the two oldest brothers grimaced in understanding. The youngest turtle, however, was still struggling to catch his father's drift.

"I'm totally confused. What on Earth could you have possibly said or done in that short of time to get him to cooperate?"

Raph and Leo both looked over at Mikey with expressions that said, 'you don't want to know.'

"Ohhhhhh. It's one of _those_ kind of things." The youngest turtle's 'aha' moment was followed by a nervous chuckle. As much as Mikey loved his father, sometimes Sensei could be downright frightening. Whatever he had done to Slash in that stairwell couldn't have been pretty.

Mikey was definitely better off not knowing.

"Now, if there are no further objections, I would like to find your brother. Slash, could you please lead the way?"

"No." The biggest mutant's blunt response earned Leonardo complete 'I told you so' rights; a boasting opportunity the leader wasn't about to pass up.

"You see? I told you he isn't gonna help us!"

A small growl from Master Splinter could be heard, although no one but Sensei knew for certain if it had been meant for his eldest son or for Slash.

"I am sure I do not need to remind you of what will happen if you fail to keep your word?" The rat's threat had been clearly directed at Slash, but the larger mutant kept his back turned to the family; perhaps to hide whatever emotion he may have been feeling.

Several long seconds passed before Slash finally offered up his highly snarky answer.

"I'm not gonna lead the way 'cause we're already here."

"What?" The word was gasped out in near-perfect unison by three very shocked turtle brothers. The reaction made Slash spin around, if only to see their stunned expressions.

"You heard me." Mouth arching up to demonstrate his amusement, Slash crossed him arms over his chest and stared at the brothers, eager for their response.

"Are you saying Donnie's inside _this_ building?" Leo spoke as though he couldn't believe what he was saying, which only further amused Slash.

"Wow! Figure that out all on your own, Leonardo? And here I thought your daddy did all the thinking for you."

Before Leo could even try to wager a comeback, Master Splinter held up a paw to stop him. There were more important matters at hand. Namely, finding his missing child. "Where inside this building is Donatello located?"

"He's on the eighth floor. Apartment eight-zero-three. There! I held up my end of the agreement. Can I go now?"

Slash was just about to leap away when Master Splinter seized him by the back of the arm. The tautness of the giant rodent's grip betrayed his anger far more than his calm voice did.

"I am afraid I cannot allow you to leave just yet. I must insist you accompany us to the apartment. At least until I can confirm that you have spoken the truth."

"And how do I know you're not gonna attack me the second you find Donatello?"

"You don't."

Raphael was just about to add his two cents, but again, Master Splinter held up a paw to stop one of his sons from speaking. Both of his oldest boys were failing to see the bigger picture.

"I personally guarantee that no one will attack you, so long as Donatello is in the location you provided. You have my word."

For reasons he couldn't explain, Slash felt sorry for the old rat. Almost like he owed the anguished father some form of closure.

Nodding his head in defeat, Slash trudged towards the rusty, old roof access hatch. The others followed without comment, silently watching on as Slash slipped down through the rather small access panel. Mikey was half-tempted to ask how someone the size of Slash could fit through a hole so tiny, but decided against it, telling himself that it must be a similar method to the one Santa Claus uses to squeeze down a tight chimney. This correlation immediately made the youngest turtle shudder inside his shell. Just the thought of Slash sneaking down a chimney in the middle of the night was absolutely terrifying.

Letting out a sad, little whimper, Mikey lowered himself down the roof hatch and rushed to catch up with Master Splinter and Slash. The two oldest brothers trailed behind, watching for any signs of a setup. Though Leo and Raph didn't see eye to eye on much of anything, they did wholeheartedly agree that Slash shouldn't be trusted.

Not for a second…

The group swiftly made their way down several flights of threadbare steps, stopping when they reached a door with a faded, black number eight painted on it. The door emitted a noisy creak as it was pushed open, which only added to the mounting tension. The long, dark hallway that stretched out before them looked like something straight out of a horror film, dark and sinister.

Mikey gulped so loud, it echoed down the corridor, but Slash paid no attention to it. He casually strolled over to the second door on the right and proceeded to unlatch the five, heavy duty, steel security chains affixed to the outside of the door.

Obviously, Slash had gone to great lengths to keep something or someone locked inside.

Appalled by the thought of his little brother being held prisoner in such an awful place, Raphael couldn't stop a growl from slipping out.

Smirking from ear to ear, Slash pushed the door to the apartment open and gestured for the family to enter. "After you."

Not wasting any time, Raph stormed past Slash, casting a glare over his shoulder as he went.

The moment the red-clad turtle stepped inside the rundown apartment, he was assaulted by a noxious odor that made his toes curl. It was a sickening combination of what he could only assume was blood, sweat, body odor, and decay mixed with his missing brother's scent.

Somehow, the overpowering smell was both encouraging and disturbing at the same time.

Donnie had definitely been here.

But what kind of shape was he in if Raph was smelling blood and decay?

Anger coursing through his veins, yet again, Raphael balled his hands into tight fists that he would have gladly slammed into Slash's face if he wasn't so concerned with finding his brother.

Returning his attention to his search efforts, Raph started checking the handful of rooms in the apartment. To his left was a rather nasty-looking bathroom that he guessed hadn't been cleaned in years; to his right was a puny bedroom that had nothing but a dingy, twin-sized mattress and a tall, shade less lamp sitting on the dust-covered floor.

Trying to ignore the fact that the place was a total dump (and that was saying a lot because Raphael lived in the sewers), the hotheaded turtle made his way past the first two rooms of the apartment and approached what looked to be the main living space. A few seconds later, he was standing over a small cage, shaking out of control.

Slash had barely registered the dull roar from Raphael when he was suddenly dragged into the living room by a now very livid-looking rat.

The family's irate reactions threw Slash for a bit of a loop. After ten days, they had finally been reunited with Donatello.

Shouldn't they be jumping for joy?

Unless...

Slash turned towards the cage to lay eyes upon what they had seen.

Or, in this case, what they _hadn't_ seen.

"What the? Where'd he go?"

An instant later, Raphael had seized hold of the upper lip of Slash's plastron and yanked him forward so the two of them were standing face to face.

"Shouldn't we be asking _**YOU**_ that?"

"But he was right here when I left! I'm sure of it! I threw him in the cage after I – "

Eyes widening with dawning horror, Slash began to frantically scan the room.

"After you what?"

Raphael's question went ignored. Slash was too preoccupied with locating the –

"Wire cutters."

Roughly pulling away from Raphael's grip, Slash looked down at the cage once more and saw the lock on the door had been cut.

"But – But they were lying in the middle of the – " The comment stopped cold when Slash saw the substantial blood stain from where he had attacked Donatello earlier. The cutting tool that had caused all the damage was nowhere to be seen, just like the genius turtle.

"Wire cutters? Why would – " It was Raph's comment that now stopped cold as his eyes landed on what Slash was staring at.

Having been distracted by the empty cage, the family had failed to see the center of the living room floor was painted in red. At least, not until Slash had drawn their attention to the fact. Intermittent flashes of lightning revealed both old and new blood stains splattered across the room, and suddenly, Raph was like a rabid dog, readying to rip Slash into shreds.

" **WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BROTHER**?!"

Still trying to piece things together, Slash shifted his gaze back to the cage. All he could see inside were dirtied bandages and –

" **A MUZZLE? YOU PUT A** _ **FREAKIN'**_ **MUZZLE ON HIM**?!" The sheer rage in Raphael's voice threatened to bring the roof crumbling down on top of them. He bent down to scoop the muzzle up with the intention of crushing the vile thing in his bare hands, when he noticed it, too, was covered in blood.

Donnie's blood, no doubt.

What happened next was inevitable.

Anyone who'd ever met the temperamental turtle before would know he was bound to go berserk sooner or later.

" **I'M GONNA KILL YOU**!"

Only four punches into the vicious attack, Raph was forcefully yanked away from Slash, grunting and snorting like a wild animal caught in a trap. He was then unceremoniously dropped to the floor by his very displeased father. As the hotheaded turtle tried to gather his wits about him, he heard a low, rumbling sound from above. He wasn't sure if it was coming from the storm raging outside or the infuriated rodent towering over him.

" **RAPHAEL**! **OCHITSUITE**! Your anger does nothing to help your brother!"

"Yeah, Raphael. Be a good boy and listen to daddy, will ya?"

The second the goading words passed Slash's lips, Master Splinter did a complete one-eighty and his face was suddenly mere inches away from Slash's. The rat's darkened expression made the largest turtle recoil in fear.

"I _warned_ you of the severe repercussions if you failed to deliver us to Donatello's exact location."

The brazen overconfidence Slash normally oozed over with was nowhere to be seen or heard as he stammered out his response.

"I – I don't know what happened to him! I s – swear! He was – he was in his c – cage when I left the apartment!"

"So, what you are telling me is that you locked my son inside a cage and just left him here to bleed to death? And now, you have no idea where he is?" The calm manner in which the rat stated his questions was unnerving. It was obvious that he was teetering on the edge of his sanity, liable to snap at any moment.

"N – No! Well, I mean, yes. B – But I can't imagine he got very far in his condition."

The ominous words made Master Splinter's stomach curdle and his paws began the tremble against his will.

Though the various scents lingering in the air had already alerted Splinter that his second youngest child was not well, he had still been holding onto hope that his heightened sense of smell was deceiving him. That what his nose had detected was somehow wrong, but he now feared the worst.

"And what exactly _is_ his condition?" Finally breaking his prolonged silence, Leonardo's voice sliced through the tension like a well-honed blade, sharp and deadly. His eyes burned with such ferocity, it was a wonder Slash didn't burst into flames from the homicidal glare now narrowed in on him.

The largest mutant awkwardly cleared his parched throat, feeling somehow small and vulnerable despite his immense size.

"He, uh… kept whining about his leg being infected. Said something about needing an antibiotic."

"And so, you just kept right on beating him?" Pushing himself to his feet, Raphael sidestepped around Master Splinter to get within striking distance of Slash once again. Then, much to the hotheaded turtle's surprise, his father moved out of the way without so much as a passing glance, granting Raphael full access to the turtle he so desperately wanted to disembowel. The warrior in red was about to capitalize on the opportunity when he noticed his father crouch down next to the cage; whiskers twitching up and down as he took in the scent.

"My son... "

All eyes fell upon Master Splinter, whose ears were now pinned flat against his head while he examined what had been his missing boy's prison for the past ten days. The closer the father inspected the cage, the more appalled he became. The awful stench was potent enough to make him nearly retch, but the foul smell was not nearly as offensive as the thought of his intellectual son being treated like nothing more than some mindless animal. It was painfully clear from both the stench and the filthy confines of the cage that Slash had not allowed Donatello to bathe or properly cleanse his wounds. The dirtied bandages as well as the old blood stains mixed with the fresh ones were evidence of Slash's continued negligence.

"Donatello's leg... How long ago did it become infected?"

Shrugging his shoulders rather nonchalantly, Slash kept his gaze fixed on Raphael as he replied. "I don't know. I guess he started complaining about it like four or five days ago."

The answer made Master Splinter spring into a bolt, upright position. An unusually panicked expression conveyed something was dreadfully wrong.

"What is it, Sensei?" With a worried frown tugging the corners of his mouth down, Leonardo followed closely behind his father, like he wasn't sure what else to do. Master Splinter appeared to be trying to pick up Donatello's trail, perhaps in an attempt to retrace his son's footsteps.

"We must find your brother."

While the declaration itself came as no shocking revelation to Leonardo, his father's extremely rattled behavior did. Master Splinter no doubt had discovered something they had not.

"Will you be able to follow his scent?"

Making his way over to a hideously upholstered sofa, Master Splinter studied the heavy-duty chain secured to the leg of the couch. His scrutinizing eyes followed the chain that went up and out of the window. Upon further inspection, he spotted several smears of blood on the window's lower sash and sill. The opening of the window was somewhat small, but obviously big enough for a man-sized turtle to squeeze through.

"Your brother has always proven to be extraordinarily resourceful." A ghost of a smile passed Splinter's lips, but it soon faded when the rain striking against the window panes captured his attention. Any clues Donatello may have inadvertently left behind were being washed away by the torrential downpour.

Of all nights for a storm...

Fate could be so incredibly unkind at times.

"I fear we will not be able to track him in this storm. My guess is that Donatello took this into account, hoping to use the rain to aid in his escape."

"But won't he just head straight to the lair?" The innocent way Michelangelo posed this question tore at Master Splinter's heartstrings. His youngest child always sought out the good in every situation, but alas, there was no good to be found here. The damage that had been inflicted upon Donatello these past ten days could quite possibly be irreparable. Something the youngest turtle would have the most difficult time coming to terms with.

"Michelangelo, we do not know what shape your brother is in, physically or mentally. If Slash has led him to believe that we do not care, Donatello may have no interest in returning home, my son."

As to be expected, denial was Mikey's knee-jerk reaction.

"What?! Nuh-uh! No way! Donnie's super smart! He knows all that stuff Slash said isn't true! He knows we care about him! He does! I bet he's already waiting for us back at the lair even as we speak! You'll see!" Snatching up his T-phone, the orange-masked turtle dialed his missing brother's number, certain Donnie would respond.

"Mikey... " Leonardo reached a hand out to console his visibly distraught baby brother, but the smaller turtle was quick to bat the incoming hand away. He didn't need comfort or pity. All he needed was his genius brother to answer his call and prove him right.

"Come on, D. Pick up… Pick up, pick up, pick up!" The sound of Donnie's voicemail message made tears start to pool in the youngest turtle's big, blue eyes, but he shook his head, still refusing to accept that his father was right.

"No! You're wrong! You're WRONG! He'd never believe those lies! Donnie knows we love him! Tell them, Raph! Tell them they're wrong! Please, Raphie!"

The usage of the word 'Raphie' made the red-clad turtle nearly choke on his own breath. He couldn't help but think back to that horrible night Donatello had been taken away from them. The genius turtle had gasped out 'Raphie' not long before Slash had beaten him into unconsciousness. Hearing Mikey use the exact same term of endearment made Raphael want to curl up into a ball and just disappear.

All the pain they were going through...

All the torture Donnie had endured…

It was all Raphael's fault.

Taking several steps forward to shrink the gap between himself and Mikey, the hotheaded turtle spoke with as much volume as he could muster, which wasn't a whole lot.

"It's okay, Mikey. We'll find him."

Brushing away his tears with the back of his left hand, the turtle in orange sniffled a few times and nodded almost imperceptibly. "I just want him home, Raph. I just want this whole nightmare to be over with."

"I know you do, little brother. We all do."

As the family briefly exchanged reassuring glances, the seemingly forgotten mutant in the room recognized their moment of grief for what it was: the perfect distraction.

"Awwww, this is so very touching. But if you'll excuse me, I have a turtle to catch."

The father and sons turned back towards Slash just in time to see him slip out of the apartment and slam the door shut. They then heard the telltale sound of Slash latching the security chains outside of the door, effectively locking them inside.

" **NOOOOOO**!" The guttural roar that ripped out of Raphael's throat was immediately followed by the sound of him slamming full-force into the door, attempting to use his body as a battering ram. He continued to crash his weight into the door, over and over again, ignoring the pain that shot through him with each violent impact.

In his mind, he deserved it...

"Let him go, Raphael! We need to find your brother!"

Despite his father's demands, Raph just kept right on barreling into the door. At least, up until he heard Leonardo call out to him.

"Raph! Come on! Let's go!"

When Raphael finally stopped his wrecking ball routine, he saw his family was climbing out of the living room window, using the chain Donatello had left behind to lower themselves out of the apartment.

Rushing over to the window, Raphael squeezed through the opening and used the chain to swing over to the nearby fire escape. His family was already climbing down the fire escape, presumably following the route they believed Donatello had taken.

Raphael, on the other hand, had no intention of taking the same route.

Confident his family had everything under control, the red-masked turtle started to scale up the fire escape rather than down.

"Raph! What are you doing?"

"You know damn well what I'm doing, Leo! You guys find Donnie! I'm gonna find the monster who did this to him and make him pay!" Raphael knew his family wouldn't approve of his decision, but he wasn't about to let Slash find Donatello before they did. The hotheaded turtle would rather die than allow Slash to lay another finger on his little brother.

"Raphael! You will do no such thing!" Though Master Splinter's voice rang out loud and clear from his position on the ground, the ninja in red acted as if he hadn't heard it and just kept right on climbing.

"Sorry, Sensei," Raph muttered under his breath as he made his way up to the rooftop and vanished from their view.

As much as Splinter wanted to go after his temperamental child and talk some much-needed sense into the boy, he also knew that time was of the utmost essence.

They needed to locate his wounded son before it was too late. Each moment they wasted, put Donatello's life further at risk.

A feeling of dread suddenly snaked its way around Master Splinter's heart, dark and ominous, as his breath hitched in his throat.

What if they were _already_ too late?

 _To be continued..._

* * *

 _ ***More Author's Notes: Raphael is too darn stubborn for his own good. This poor family. They were so close to finding Donnie! Ugh!**_

 _ **I'll warn everyone in advance, the next chapter is an emotional one.**_ **(** **｡** **•** **́** **︵** **•** **̀** **｡** **)**

 _ **As always, please favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on this story if you are enjoying it. I would absolutely**_ _ **love**_ _ **to hear from all of you. It's always nice to know if people are still reading.**_

 _ **Thanks so much!**_ **C=**

 _ **CJ**_


	18. Chapter 18 - Abandonment

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: I'm back with chapter 18 of 'Slash's Revenge' and this one's a bit on the sad side. Luckily, I received a_** ** _huge_** ** _pile of candy for Valentine's Day and it helped me through my editing. Thank goodness for the miraculous healing powers of chocolate!_**

 ** _Speaking of thanks… Thank you to my wonderful readers, followers, and friends. I appreciate you all so very much._**

 ** _I truly hope you enjoy the chapter._** **(** **ᵘ** **ᵕ** **ᵘ** **⁎** **)**

 ** _CJ_**

* * *

 **Chapter 18 – Abandonment**

It felt so good to finally lie down on something other than the bottom of his cage.

Granted, using several oversized pieces of corrugated cardboard for a mattress wasn't exactly ideal, but it was definitely light years better than his prior sleeping accommodations.

Teeth chattering out of control, Donatello coiled up onto his side and covered himself with a tattered tarp he had found in the back of the warehouse that was presently shielding him from the storm raging on outside.

Nine blocks…

That's all the further Donatello had made it before his legs had collapsed beneath him. Every step he had taken had been sheer agony, even with the aid of his makeshift crutch, which was nothing more than a rickety push broom he had hastily snatched from the kitchen of Slash's apartment on the way out.

Weakened by malnutrition, countless injuries, and the infection now coursing through his body, Donatello had been rendered physically incapable of forcing himself back up to his feet. And so, he had crawled towards the nearest building to seek warmth and shelter from the pouring rain. Fortunately for him, that building happened to be an abandoned warehouse that had conveniently been left unlocked, sparing him the time and energy of having to break in.

The vacant building he had taken refuge in didn't look at all familiar to him on the outside. Actually, none of the buildings he had hobbled past during his rather slow-motion escape looked familiar, leaving him to wonder just where the heck he was. There was nothing inside the building to help him figure that out, either. Save for a few empty cardboard boxes and the torn-up tarp he had found, the warehouse was pretty much empty. Most likely cleaned out by the former owners and/or random looters looking to make a little extra cash on the side.

Closing his eyes, Donatello hoped the rhythm of the falling rain might help lull him to sleep, but each time he would start to drift off, the thunder rolling overhead would startle him back into consciousness. Not to mention every little noise was making him paranoid.

The storm may have helped to cover up his tracks, but that didn't mean he was safe.

Not by a long shot...

Not so long as Slash was still out there...

Pulling himself into a tighter ball, Donatello continued to shiver underneath his vinyl 'blanket.' He couldn't make the shaking stop, no matter how hard he tried.

He knew this was a bad sign.

A tiny voice in the back of his brain kept telling him that he couldn't stay here. That his condition was life-threatening and he needed to get up and at least try to find some place with a working phone, but there were far too many louder voices inside his head drowning out that tiny voice of reason.

Delirious with fever, Donatello was involuntarily allowing those louder voices to poison his every thought. All he could focus on were the cruel words of his captor and his hotheaded brother constantly volleying back and forth in his overwrought mind...

" _Pathetic. You always have been. That's why your brothers haven't come for you yet. They know you're weak and useless, so they stopped searching. I mean, why bother, right?"_

" _You're always sorry! I've had it up to here with your excuses, Donnie!"_

" _You think if I would've taken the almighty, fearless leader, your dear old rat dad wouldn't have found him by now? He would've combed every inch of this city to find his precious Leonardo, but not you, Donnie boy. No, not you. He doesn't care a thing about you. No one does. That's the real reason why your family hasn't found you yet."_

" _What? It wasn't enough that you almost killed Spike? Now, you almost killed all of us with another one of your crazy experiments!"_

" _How's it feel to know your family thinks so little of you, they've left you for dead? I mean, I knew that Raphael would, but the rest of 'em. Heh! They must really think you're a worthless piece of shell."_

" _You're always screwing everything up, Donnie!"_

" _Raphael used to tell me everything about you guys. He always said that you three held him back and that he didn't want to be a part of the team anymore. He especially couldn't stand you."_

" _How many times have you nearly killed us now? How many times, huh?"_

" _The truth is, Raph always thought the least of you. He told me time and time again that you were the most useless one. An embarrassment to the clan."_

" _All you ever do is put everyone in danger, Donnie!"_

" _You're good for nothing."_

" _You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch!"_

" _Poor, frail, little Donatello."_

" _You're the reason Spike's gone!"_

" _Your brothers aren't coming for you."_

" _I lost my best friend because of you! It was all your fault!"_

" _And why should they?"_

" _If you weren't such a walking disaster, he'd still be here!"_

" _You're not worth saving."_

Heart racing about a million miles per minute, Donatello tightly held his breath so as not to let out a wail of pain. Though he knew that last line had originally been spoken by Slash, the genius turtle could've sworn he had just heard his hotheaded brother's voice speak those very same words. Only, not inside his head, but rather, it had sounded as though Raph had been standing right there beside him.

But that couldn't be possible...

 _Could it?_

Prying his eyelids apart, Donatello stared up in slack-jawed disbelief at the familiar green figure now staring back down at him.

Words alluded the intellectual turtle for what felt like hours, but what was, in all actuality, only about fifteen seconds or so. Finally, he managed to find his voice again, although it came out in a broken whisper.

"R – Raph? Is it – is it really y – you?" Propping himself up on his less injured arm, Donatello's bottom lip began to quiver against his will while he waited for his brother's response, still not sure if he should trust his eyesight or not. Perhaps this was just another illusion brought on by his fever. His vision was rather suspect at the moment.

"You know a lot of other giant, talking turtles that wear a red mask?"

Never in all his life had Donnie been so ecstatic to hear his big brother's deadpan humor.

Raph was here!

After all this time, his brother had finally found him!

Unable to keep his emotions in check, the wounded turtle started to weep openly, allowing tears of joy to stream down his dirty cheeks as he struggled to sit up.

"Should've known that'd be your response."

Sobs softening into small, hiccupping sounds, Donnie peered up at his older brother through blurry eyes, shocked by the coldness in Raphael's voice.

"Wh – What?"

The expression on Raph's face was not that of someone who was relieved to see his missing brother after ten days with no word. It was full of loathing and disgust.

It was the same way Slash always looked at Donnie.

Like he hated him just for existing...

The elation Donatello had felt only seconds ago transformed itself into pure horror.

His brother was actually looking at him as though he hated him.

"You heard me. What's the matter, Donatello? Can't get up because you're too weak? Phfffft! Figures."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop by about twenty degrees and Donnie could feel himself now violently shaking inside his shell. His brother made no motion to help him get up; only glared down at him as though appalled by the mere sight of him.

"R – Raph... Please... I – I'm injured."

"Of course you are. Poor, defenseless, little Donnie couldn't protect himself. Real shocker there."

All Donatello could do in response to Raph's harsh comments was squeeze his eyelids shut and whimper into his shoulder. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Donnie didn't understand how his own brother could be so cruel after everything that had happened.

How could Raph say all those awful things?

Unless Slash had been right all along...

" _Raphael used to tell me everything about you guys. He always said that you three held him back and that he didn't want to be a part of the team anymore. He especially couldn't stand you. He never missed a chance to point out what a hopeless weakling you are and how he wished you weren't related to him. He used to constantly say he couldn't believe he had such a pathetic loser for a brother."_

" _The truth is, Raph always thought the least of you. He told me time and time again that you were the most useless one. An embarrassment to the clan."_

The next ugly comment that fired out of Raphael's mouth seemed to corroborate every word of Slash's claims. "Pathetic! You're worthless, Donnie! Always have been. We're constantly having to save your sorry shell. Look at you. You're nothing but a disgrace."

"N – No."

Cupping his trembling hands over his ear slits, Donnie attempted to block out the sound of his brother's voice, but it was the only thing he could hear anymore...

" _All you ever do is put everyone in danger, Donnie!"_

"I don't even know why we bothered trying to find you."

" _You're always screwing everything up, Donnie!"_

"We'd all be better off without you!"

" _You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch!"_

"I should just leave you here to die."

" _You're not worth saving."_

" **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!** "

Gasping for the air that had just rapidly expelled out of his lungs, Donatello's eyes shot open to gaze upon an empty room.

There was no one there but him.

The revelation that it had been yet another nightmare did little to calm the genius turtle down. Barely able to catch his breath, he half panted, half blubbered against his cardboard bed while instinctively cowering away from the spot where his pseudo brother had been. The wounded turtle's head was spinning so much, he was having a difficult time getting his bearings straight.

Eventually, the world started to come back into focus again, and when it did, the first thing Donatello noticed was that his hand was throbbing like crazy. Looking down, he saw that the towel wrapped around the wounds where Slash had tried to sever his finger was soaked in blood. The injury needed to be stitched up, but that wasn't exactly an option right now. Not just due to a lack of proper medical supplies, but also, because his hands were about as steady as a bowlful of hot Jello.

Too exhausted to get up from the spot he was in, Donatello cradled his hand to his chest and curled himself up into a loose a fetal position. While his body continued to shiver, he listened to the soothing sound of the rain lapping against the building. It always sounded so much different up on the surface than it did from down in the sewers. It was almost like a lullaby, soft and comforting. There had been several nights that he had just laid there in his cage, listening to the calming pitter-patter outside.

The memory of that horrible cage made a sob eek its way out of Donnie's throat, but he was quick to muffle the sound with his unwrapped hand.

He couldn't risk being heard.

If Slash was anywhere near the vicinity...

An ill-timed crack of thunder made the skittish turtle's heart practically jump right out of his plastron.

 _It was just the storm…_

 _Nothing to be afraid of…_

 _Just the storm..._

Donatello dragged his uninjured hand downwards, fully intending to place his palm over his chest, but he stopped his momentum short when his fingertips grazed the metal collar still fastened securely around his neck. The obvious reminder of the hell he had just endured sent a shudder up and down his spine.

Though he would've gladly crushed the collar into about a million pieces, he currently had no means of removing the device. He had yet to find anything that he could pick the lock with. Sure, there may have been something he could've used back in Slash's apartment, but for time's sake, he had opted to just leave the collar on. He instead concentrated his efforts on his harrowing escape plan. Well, it wasn't so much of an escape plan as it was a series of incredibly favorable events.

In all honesty, Slash really should've seen it coming. After all, he had left the supposedly smartest turtle alone in an apartment with a lengthy chain, a pair of heavy-duty, wire cutters, several strips of medical tape, and a cage designed to hold a dog, not a highly-trained ninja.

Clearly, Slash was not cut out for rocket science. He may have just as well handed the genius turtle the keys to the car while he was at it.

Once Donatello had been able to reach the chain and hook it around the wire cutters, it had taken him all of a minute to pop the surprisingly flimsy lock off his cage. He then proceeded to grab a broom for support, loop his chain around the couch leg as an anchor, and exit through the living room window.

In hindsight, the brainy turtle really wished he would've taken a few moments to search the apartment for something he could've used to remove his collar, or perhaps more importantly, treat his wounds, but he didn't want to linger any longer than necessary. He had been terrified that Slash would come back and find him.

He still was...

That fear had pushed Donatello onward, but only for so long. His ordeal had left him on the verge of passing out and his adrenaline wore off about eight blocks away from Slash's apartment. By the ninth block, the wounded turtle's legs flat out refused to carry him any longer, which had led him to his present location.

The good news was, it had been at least a couple hours since his escape, maybe longer depending on how much time he had blacked out for. The not so good news was, Slash would no doubt come looking for him and Donatello was in no shape to defend himself. That also meant the genius turtle was in no shape to go home. He could hardly move, let alone stand up. Not to mention he was most likely miles and miles away from the lair. Judging by the unrecognizable scenery, Donatello surmised that Slash had made a point of taking him somewhere his brothers would have a hard time finding him.

If they had even tried...

" _Pathetic. You always have been. That's why your brothers haven't come for you yet. They know you're weak and useless, so they stopped searching. I mean, why bother, right?"_

" _How's it feel to know your family thinks so little of you, they've left you for dead? I mean, I knew that Raphael would, but the rest of 'em. Heh! They must really think you're a worthless piece of shell."_

" _Hmmm… I'd actually be doing them a huge favor by putting you out of your misery. You and I both know they'd all be better off if you were dead."_

" _Bet they wouldn't even shed a tear. Probably just toss you down a sewage drain with the rest of the filth."_

Donatello moved his hand away from his collar so he could push it against his pounding right temple, hoping it might help him think straight.

Everything in his brain was a jumbled-up mess.

Nothing was making sense anymore.

Deep down inside, the genius turtle knew the trauma and fever were playing tricks on him, but it was getting more and more difficult to differentiate the hallucinations from reality. Things had been going steadily downhill since Slash had last attacked him.

The infection was taking its toll.

He was starting to hear things that weren't there...

" _Pathetic! You're worthless, Donnie! Always have been. We're constantly having to save your sorry shell. Look at you. You're nothing but a disgrace."_

Starting to believe the lies were true...

 _"Your family – they don't want you back. I can't blame 'em. You're pretty much useless."_

Pressing his palm harder against his temple, Donatello gently shook his head from side to side.

"No! This isn't real. It's j – just the fever talking."

The wounded turtle wasn't even sure if he had said these words out loud or not. It was like he was stuck in a haze he couldn't find his way out of. His condition was getting worse. The infection, the fever, the starvation, the sleep and blood loss…

He needed help.

Help he wasn't going to get if he stayed here.

Despite the pain and overwhelming sense of dizziness, Donnie feebly tried to push himself up into a sitting position, but his arms gave out beneath him and he fell right back down to the floor with a shrill cry.

" _Poor, frail, little Donatello."_

Ignoring the condescending voice taunting him from the far recesses of his brain, the genius turtle attempted to lift his head back up to no avail. He suddenly felt as though he weighed several tons.

" _What's the matter, Donatello? Can't get up because you're too weak?"_

Flurries of light started to dot his vision and his sight began to fade, as did the words swirling all around him.

" _Your brothers aren't coming for you."_

"Have to stay awake... B – Brothers aren't coming for m – me."

" _And why should they?"_

Though the injured turtle was doing everything in his power to stay conscious, the infection was too far along and his body demanded rest.

As he passed out, three words parted from his lips with barely a sound...

"Not worth saving."

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 _ ***More Author's Notes: This chapter hurts my heart. Yes, there are a few glimpses of Sassatello in here, but it does nothing to stop the pain. Poor, poor Donnie. He's fading fast.**_

 _ **Did any of you happen to notice there were some extra lines of ridicule floating around inside of Donnie's brain in this chapter? Spoiler alert: these extra lines will come into play several chapters from now and they'll give everyone yet another reason to hate Slash.**_

 _ **As always, please take a few moments to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment to let me know if you're enjoying this story and want to see more. I'm so eternally grateful for all the amazingly positive feedback I've received on 'Slash's Revenge' so far. I assure you the support is very much appreciated. **_

_**I've said it before, and I'll say it again! TMNT fans are the best!**_ **◦°˚\\(*** **❛‿❛** **)/˚°◦**

 _ **Thank you all lots and lots and lots! *hugs***_

 _ **CJ**_


	19. Chapter 19 - The Truth Hurts

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 ** _*Author's Notes: Chapter 19 of 'Slash's Revenge' is here and this one is a race against time._**

 ** _Before jumping into the chapter, I want to take a quick moment to thank everyone who nominated and/or voted for my stories in the 2018 TMNT Universal Reader's Choice Awards. I'm so very grateful to each and every one of you. I truly, truly am. I also want to thank everyone who has favorited, followed, liked, reblogged, reviewed, and/or commented on 'Slash's Revenge.' I'm super excited this story just hit 100 favorites. Woo-hoo! That makes me all kinds of happy. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! *hugs*_** **ヾ** **( ˆᴗˆ )** **ノ**

 ** _Okay, just one more 'thank you' note, and then, we'll get on with the chapter..._**

 ** _Thank you ALL so much for reading. You're amazing! _;)**

 ** _CJ_**

* * *

 **Chapter 19 – The Truth Hurts**

Leaning his weary back against a damp, brick wall, Master Splinter let his aching bones rest for a bit while his oldest and youngest sons once again attempted to contact Raphael on their mobile devices. As the father silently watched on, he felt his heart grow heavy with sorrow.

It had been twenty-six hours since the three of them had left Slash's apartment, and still, they had found no trace of Donatello. They had searched nonstop through the night, then on through the day, and now, the night again.

Still, nothing.

The storm had let up some time ago, tapering down to a light drizzle. No longer enough to affect visibility, but still enough to make them cold and miserable.

Needless to say, morale was running low.

"Any luck, Mikey?"

"No. How 'bout you?"

In lieu of a verbal response, Leonardo simply shook his head. Without the rain to mask his tears, he had to work harder to keep his emotions under wraps.

"I'm gonna check with April, again. Maybe she's heard something." Before Mikey even finished his last sentence, he was already dialing the number and walking further down the alley for what Leo assumed was privacy.

Swallowing thickly, Leonardo turned towards his father and dipped his mouth down into a textbook frown. He only hoped he didn't look as bad as he felt.

"How are you holding up, my son?"

"You want an honest answer?" The question was followed by a mirthless laugh.

"Always."

"Well, two out of my three brothers have been missing for over twenty-four hours now, I'm totally exhausted, my T-phone battery is just about dead, I feel like I'm drenched to the bone, and my feet are killing me. Aside from all that, everything's just hunky-dory."

Now, it was Master Splinter's turn to laugh, but the sound he produced was somehow even grimmer than the sound his eldest son had made just seconds before.

Though his father was oftentimes extremely difficult to read, Leonardo could see plain as day that Master Splinter's thoughts were weighing heavily on his mind.

"Sensei, is there something you're not telling us? About Donnie, I mean? Did you sense something back at the apartment that I should know about?"

The wall behind him suddenly seemed to be the only thing holding Master Splinter upright. His dark gaze met Leonardo's sapphire one and the oldest turtle could see the intense fear residing in his father's glossy stare. It sent a chill up and down Leo's spine.

"What is it, Sensei?" Urgency hijacked what little voice the blue-masked turtle could muster. It took all his willpower not to scream at his father for continuing to keep the truth from him. It had been twenty-six hours now, and still, every time Leonardo asked his father if something was troubling him, the Ninjutsu master would manage to dodge the question. Now that Michelangelo was temporarily out of earshot, the blue-clad turtle was bound and determined to get to the bottom of things.

Master Splinter knew that resolute look on his oldest son's face all too well. Shifting his eyes towards the ground, Sensei let out a low growl before finally responding.

"Your brother is gravely ill, Leonardo. His scent back in the apartment indicated as much. He is suffering from a serious infection, and the longer that infection is left untreated, the more likely it will be fatal. Donatello is well-versed in medicine. He knows his condition is life-threatening, yet he has not tried to contact us or April at this point. I worry that he is either too sick to do so or he has chosen not to because he does not want to be found."

"So, you're basically telling me that Donnie's dying?" The anger in Leonardo's tone came as no surprise to Master Splinter, nor did the tears that tumbled down his oldest son's face. It was one of the main reasons why Splinter had held back the truth.

That and he didn't want to face it himself.

"It is a strong possibility. Yes." Though his emotions were running high on the inside, Master Splinter's outward appearance remained rather apathetic. Something that instantly got underneath Leonardo's skin.

"And you waited until just now to tell me this?" Tossing his arms up in the air in obvious frustration, the oldest turtle's chest heaved with each inhale and exhale. Under normal circumstances, Leonardo wouldn't dare question his father the way he just had, but the eldest turtle could feel himself starting to crack under the pressure.

Master Splinter recognized this and drew in a deep, cleansing breath so as not to fall victim to the same fate. He knew that his son was only lashing out because of the gravity of the situation. The burden was becoming more than Leonardo could carry, just at it had with Raphael.

"I did not wish to upset you and your brothers any further than you already were. Knowing this information would not help us find Donatello any sooner. I chose to hide the truth to protect you." Although Master Splinter finally demonstrated the first external signs of guilt, Leonardo clung to his hostility like a weapon.

"Yeah, well how does it protect Donnie? Maybe if you would've said something right away, Raph wouldn't have run off! He'd still be – "

The sound of Michelangelo approaching cut Leonardo's bitter sentence short.

Despite the fact that the youngest turtle was not always the most perceptive member of the family, he immediately noticed the tension between his father and oldest brother. Mikey had clearly interrupted something, and from the look of it, it wasn't pleasant.

"Whoa. What'd I miss?"

"Nothing." The deceit in his own response made Leonardo cringe. It seemed somewhat hypocritical to keep his father's revelation a secret from Mikey considering what had just transpired, but Leo didn't want to traumatize his little brother with the heartbreaking news. The oldest turtle suddenly realized that he should probably cut his father a little slack. Master Splinter had only been doing what he thought was best for them.

Just like he always did...

When Leonardo looked over at his father, there was a knowing expression on Splinter's face that told the eldest turtle that all was forgiven between them.

After the brief eye contact with Leonardo, Master Splinter turned his attention towards his youngest child, who was starting to get a bit antsy.

"What did April say, Michelangelo?"

"She said she hasn't heard anything from Donnie and that she's still at the lair, in case he comes home. Oh, and she said that Casey's been out looking for Raph, but he hasn't turned up anything yet."

Master Splinter would have been lying if he had said he wasn't disappointed by the update, but it was not unexpected. He nodded his head to show appreciation of the information his youngest child had just provided. Though Michelangelo had not actually uncovered anything they were not already aware of, he still needed to be acknowledged for his efforts. The youngest brother craved approval whenever he completed a task, no matter how menial.

"So, what now, Sensei?"

This was a good question. One that Master Splinter was not sure how to answer at this point. The three of them had been combing alleyways, dumpsters, rooftops, parking lots, and abandoned buildings for over a day now and hadn't turned up a single clue. If Donatello didn't have any intention of being found, he had the know-how to disappear without a trace. That would make their chances of finding him slim to none.

But those unfavorable odds weren't about to stop Master Splinter from looking for his child.

"We continue our search."

Though both physically exhausted, Leo and Mikey didn't hesitate to follow their father, assuming there would be plenty of time to rest once they found their missing brothers.

* * *

He didn't get it.

How hard could it be to track down a huge, unwieldy, mutant turtle? Seriously?

 _And yet, here you are, still searching_ …

Apparently, Slash was a heck of a lot stealthier than Raphael had given him credit for. Hence, the reason why Raph hadn't found him yet. And, hence the reason why Slash had been able to keep Donnie prisoner for ten days.

The thought of his missing brother made Raphael's heart sink like a stone. He could still see the blood all over that apartment.

Could still smell the putrid scent of it hanging in the air…

If Raph managed to find Slash, he was going to personally disembowel him for what he had done to Donnie.

The sensation of his T-phone vibrating against his hip distracted the hotheaded turtle from his increasingly violent thoughts. Temporarily stopping his momentum, Raphael tilted his head down and watched the lights on his phone start flashing for about the seventieth time over the past few hours.

His brothers were persistent. He had to give them that.

Looking at the time, Raphael saw that it was now nearing the thirty-hour mark since he had last spoken with anyone. In other words, he had been officially ignoring his family's calls for over a day now. Not because he didn't _want_ to talk to them, but because he didn't _deserve_ to talk to them.

And what was he even supposed to say?

 _Sorry for what happened?_

Like that even began to make amends for all the damage he had caused.

Nevertheless, Raph didn't know how much longer he could take the suspense. As ashamed as he was of himself, he needed answers. Answers he wasn't ever going to get unless he picked up his phone.

Anxiety finally won out over stubbornness.

"Did you guys find him, yet, Leo?"

"Raph! Where _are_ you?! And why haven't you been answering any of our calls?"

The words immediately made the temperamental turtle wince, as he was reminded of the harsh way he had greeted his genius brother the night he was kidnapped...

" _Donnie, where the shell are you? Why haven't you been answering your phone? You're late for patrol and Mikey and Leo are freaking out!"_

If only Raph had known…

The warrior in red had to lean the majority of his weight against a rooftop billboard sign for fear of falling down.

"So, I'll take that as a no."

The disappointment in Raphael's voice made Leo soften his tone. Getting angry wasn't going to solve anything. Besides, the oldest turtle was just grateful to hear the sound of his hotheaded brother's voice at this point. It was one less thing to stress out over.

"No one's seen or heard anything, and we've been literally searching all day and night. April's at the lair and Casey's out looking for you."

"That's good. I mean, not that you didn't find him... But that Casey and April are helping out. How's Mikey holding up?"

"About as well as can be expected. He and Sensei are checking out an abandoned factory right now. I stayed outside to try your T-phone, again."

"Sounds like you guys have everything under control." The impassive way Raphael was speaking told Leo that his immediate younger brother's thoughts were elsewhere. He was just talking for the sake of keeping the conversation going, almost like it was a prerecorded message.

"Are you okay, Raph?"

A gruff snort followed the question before Raphael groaned out his reply.

"Yeah. Just peachy."

"That's not a _real_ answer, Raphael."

Another snort sounded out. This one far more bitter than the last, forewarning Leo that his brother's response wasn't going to be all that friendly. Not that that came as much of a surprise.

"It's not any more bogus than you pretending you're not mad at me."

Biting back a growl, the oldest turtle opted to instead roll his eyes. Sometimes, his temperamental brother was just plain infuriating. Leonardo had to wonder what he had done in some former life to deserve _this_. It must have been something pretty bad.

"Even if I am mad at you, that doesn't mean I can't be concerned. You're my brother."

"Don't worry about me, Leo. Just focus on finding Donnie."

"I can't help but worry about you, too, Raph. Especially when you don't bother answering us for over a day." The slight hint of snark that came from Leonardo's end of the connection made the younger of the two turtles clear his throat uneasily, embarrassed that his big brother had called him out on his poor communication skills.

"Sorry about that. But I... I need to do this on my own."

While it wasn't uncommon for Raph to sometimes want to go off and do things by himself, Leo did not feel this situation demanded a solo effort.

"No! You don't, Raph! We're a family. We should be doing this together. You should be here, helping us find Donnie. Forget about Slash."

"I can't just forget about Slash! You saw all the blood in that apartment and how small that cage was! And I know you saw that damn muzzle! He tortured Donnie, Leo! For **_ten_ **days, he tortured him! I want that monster's head on a stake! You can't tell me you don't want the same thing!"

Always the more rational of the two oldest brothers, Leo tried to talk some sense into his orneriest sibling. "That very well may be, but finding Donnie is my top priority right now. Everything else can wait."

Not all that shockingly, it had been a monumental waste of Leonardo's breath. Hamato Raphael was as pigheaded as the day was long.

"I'm not just gonna let Slash get away with this!" Anger made the hotheaded turtle's whole body shake, but he didn't let it faze him.

Once again, Leonardo tried to be the voice of reason to no avail.

"I don't expect you to. But now is not the time for revenge, Raph."

"Why the shell not?! Slash needs to go down for what he did! So why wouldn't you want me to go after him?"

One thing was for sure: Raphael never had a problem pushing Leonardo's buttons, even on a normal day.

The leader had been doing his best to remain calm, but his nerves were already on edge. He finally snapped out his response.

"Because Donnie might be _dying_ , Raph! That's why!"

"Wh – What?" The anger in Raph's voice was stripped away, replaced by fear.

"Sensei... He said that Donnie's really sick. Like 'could kill him' sick. If we don't find him soon... " The sentence was left hanging like a noose for Raph to strangle himself with. Though it may not have been Leonardo's intention to place blame, the hotheaded turtle took it as such.

"He'll die and it'll be all my fault."

The bleak response took Leo somewhat by surprise. So much so, he practically squealed out his next words, shifting into damage control mode purely out of instinct.

"No! It'll be _Slash's_ fault!"

Yet another disgusted snort followed Leo's response, clearly demonstrating Raphael's exasperation.

"The only reason Slash got a hold of him in the first place is because of me! Admit it!"

"That's not what I was trying to get at, Raph! This isn't about who's to blame! This is about finding our brother!" Leonardo made one last desperate attempt to reason with his temperamental sibling, but it was already too late. "Raph? RAPH!"

As he switched off his T-phone, cutting his older brother off mid-'Raph,' the red-clad turtle watched a lone tear slowly trickle down the display of the device in his trembling hand. The last conversation he and Donnie had had was replaying in his head…

" _Has he hurt you?"_

" _Y – Yes."_

" _How bad, Donnie?"_

" _R – Raph… you d – don't – "_

" _How bad, Donatello?!"_

"' _B – Bleeding p – prof – fusely b – bad."_

Raphael wasn't a medical expert by any stretch of the imagination, but he didn't need to be to know exactly what 'bleeding profusely' meant. The words alone sickened him, but coupled with the memory of what they had found inside that apartment, it was a wonder the temperamental ninja hadn't totally lost it. The unmistakable smell and sight of blood inside that place had been overpowering. Even worse was the stench of decay.

The thought of what could've possibly been decaying made the red-masked turtle's own flesh crawl.

" _Donnie might be dying, Raph!"_

" _Sensei... He said that Donnie's really sick. Like 'could kill him' sick. If we don't find him soon... "_

Karma was definitely coming back to bite Raph in the shell for what he had done. There could be no other explanation for why they had finally managed to find the location where Donnie had been held prisoner all that time only to discover they had just missed him.

Cursing himself under his quivering breath, Raphael swept away the gathering tears with the back of his left hand. If only the agony he was feeling inside could be so easily wiped away. But the fact of the matter was, he deserved the pain.

Every last bit of it!

 _He_ should've been the one out there suffering, not his genius brother. Donatello was just an innocent victim in all of this. An innocent victim that was dying because of what Raphael had done.

 _Dying_ …

 _He's dying because of me…_

The turtle in red cast his misty gaze over the hundreds of rooftops spanning out all around him, knowing there were thousands of buildings that stretched out far beyond what his eyes could see. More buildings than he could ever possibly search.

" _If we don't find him soon... "_

Time was ticking away and there was nothing Raphael could do about it.

 _I'm sorry, Donnie._

 _I'm so, so sorry... for everything._

Just as he was about to get overwhelmed by the hopelessness of the situation, Raphael spotted something lurking along the rooftops, several buildings away from where he currently stood. Taking cover behind the large, wooden sign he had just been leaning against, the red-masked turtle gulped down several mouthfuls of air before poking his head out from the billboard to survey the scene.

Something was out there, all right. Or rather _someone_.

The next round of tears readying to fall was clouding Raphael's vision so much that he had to blink at least a dozen times before he could really trust his eyesight. And even then, he was still having a tough time believing what he was seeing.

It was _him_!

After all this nonstop searching, Raphael had finally found him!

With his heart racing right along with his feet, the turtle in red rushed towards the familiar green figure like a shot out of a canon. His intense green eyes remained fixed dead ahead, not about to let the turtle he was fast approaching out of his sight.

He'd be shelled before he lost him again.

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 _ ***More Author's Notes: So, who does everyone think Raphael found?**_

 _ **I will warn all of you ahead of time… The next chapter is a super dramatic one. I'm looking forward to sharing it with everybody.**_

 _ **As always, if you're enjoying this story, please take a moment to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment to let me know. I love hearing from all of you and appreciate your positive feedback more than words can type.**_

 _ **Thank you so much for reading. I truly hope you liked the chapter.**_

 _ **CJ**_

 _ ****Special Notes: Thank you oodles and oodles to everyone who checked out 'Colors,' my latest 'TMNT Shell Shot.' I'm glad so many readers liked it.**_ **\** **(** ๑ں๑ **)** **/**


	20. Chapter 20 - Too Late

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 _ ***Author's Notes: Here's chapter 20 of 'Slash's Revenge' and I'm not even sure how describe this one. Let's just say it's one of my favorites in the story and leave it at that.**_

 _ **Immense thanks to all of you. I'm incredibly fortunate to have so many amazing friends, followers, and readers. You're all wonderful! Thank you so much.**_

 _ **CJ**_

* * *

 **Chapter 20 – Too Late**

Each step he took seemed more difficult than the previous one, like trying trudge through a pit of tar, but he kept going regardless. Fear compelled him onward; a psychosomatic motivator of sorts.

If Donatello had to venture a guess, he'd say he was going about a quarter mile per hour, tops, even with the aid of the broom/crutch he had haphazardly grabbed back at the apartment. At this rate, he might reach the lair before the next millennium. Heavy emphasis on the word 'might.'

Maybe if he didn't have to stop to rest every thirty feet or so, he'd already be back home. As it was, he guessed he had only traveled about a mile since leaving the warehouse who knows how long ago. The pain was seriously messing with his perception of time and distance. Most likely, it was affecting his sense of direction as well. Hence, the reason he didn't dare slip down into the sewers at this point. In his currently debilitated state, he could easily get lost in the endless, murky corridors beneath the city and no one would ever find him.

 _Would that be such a bad thing?_

Running low on faith, as well as energy, Donatello leaned his carapace against the graffiti-covered brick wall of the building beside him. The structure provided his grievously injured leg a much-needed timeout. The limb could barely support any weight. It was yet another reason his momentum had been reduced to a sloth's pace.

Then, there was the fact that he was trying to stay hidden. He had opted to stick to the dark alleyways to keep his presence undetected, but this required him to cower behind garbage dumpsters anytime he thought he heard someone or something approaching, slowing his progress even more.

Perhaps leaving the shelter of the warehouse wasn't such a good idea after all…

But the genius turtle had worried that staying in one place for too long would increase the likelihood of Slash finding him, while at the same time, decrease the probability of his family coming across him. If Donnie didn't have any idea where he was, he could only assume his family was just as clueless as to his whereabouts.

If they were even looking anymore...

" _Pathetic. You always have been. That's why your brothers haven't come for you yet. They know you're weak and useless, so they stopped searching. I mean, why bother, right?"_

Rubbing his right forearm back and forth across his droopy eyes, Donatello attempted to brush away the gathering moisture. A combination of sweat, tears, and utter exhaustion was making it hard to see.

"Awwww, does little Donnie need a nap? Should I get you your baba and blankie?"

The patronizing voice sent a shudder down the length of the brainiac turtle's spinal cord. Not so much because of the condescending words themselves, but because of the sickening realization that the person speaking them wasn't actually there.

The figment of his imagination now standing right beside him was simply a visual representation of his gradual descent into madness.

At least he still had the presence of mind to recognize what he was seeing wasn't real...

"Shut up, Raph! I know you're nothing more than a fever-induced hallucination, so you might as well leave me alone."

"You mean like the rest of our family did? They all just abandoned you and left you to rot in that cage."

Donatello's logical side was quick to remind him that his subconscious was merely twisting Slash's constant ridiculing into something seemingly tangible...

" _You can deny it all you want, Donnie boy. The truth is, Raph always thought the least of you. He told me time and time again that you were the most useless one. An embarrassment to the clan."_

Trying to make him believe that all those awful things Slash had said to him were true...

" _He never missed a chance to point out what a hopeless weakling you are and how he wished you weren't related to him. He used to constantly say he couldn't believe he had such a pathetic loser for a brother."_

Donatello jerked his head from side to side, trying to shake out those dark thoughts.

"No! Slash was lying. They didn't leave me. They would never... leave me. J – Just have... to keep going." Shifting his weight back onto his makeshift crutch, the wounded mutant started to hobble away. To no place in particular; just so long as it was in the opposite direction of the optical illusion of his hotheaded brother.

Unfortunately, that illusion was just as stubborn as the real thing and never even missed a beat.

"Go where, Donatello? Back home? You'll never make it there. And even if you could, we don't want you back."

While he continued to limp along, the intellectual turtle heaved out a long sigh that could've easily been mistaken for a growl. His patience was clearly being worn thin.

"Well, if you hate me that much, then I guess there's no need for you to follow me around anymore, is there?"

"And leave you out here, all alone and totally helpless? What kind of brother would that make me?" The mock caring in faux-Raphael's voice would've been enough to tick even happy-go-lucky Mikey off, so it came as no surprise when Donatello's sarcasm gushed out full force.

"Better than the one who just stood there and watched me leave the night Slash went after me!"

"What's wrong, Donnie? Still upset about what I said back at the lair? The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

A venomous retort was right on the tip of Donatello's tongue, but it shriveled up and died without a sound.

No one was there to speak it to...

" _Pathetic. You always have been."_

It was just him and the voices inside his head...

" _Your family – they don't want you back. I can't blame 'em. You're pretty much useless."_

Was this finally rock bottom? Standing in a dank alleyway, wounded, cold, dazed and alone, arguing with himself like some kind of lunatic? Was this the lowest he could get? Even worse than being treated like a mindless animal?

At least, back at the apartment, he had had food, shelter, warmth, and someone to talk to…

 _Okay, now I know I've gone totally off the deep end. It's either that or I'm suffering from the worst case of Stockholm Syndrome ever!_

 _Food, shelter, warmth, and someone to talk to? Seriously? You were fed leaves once a day and kept in a cage, dummy! And let's not forget that that monster used you as his personal punching bag!_

 _How could_ _ **this**_ _possibly be worse?_

 _You need to stop being such a drama turtle!_

Cinching his eyes tightly shut, Donatello forced himself to concentrate. He was fairly certain the voice of reason was still trapped somewhere inside his tangled brain. He just needed to access it.

 _Think, Donatello. Think!_

Ever-so-slowly, the genius turtle pried his eyelids apart and glanced over the scene, carefully weighing his options.

Slipping down into the sewers had already been ruled out.

Skulking along the alleyways had proved to be rather unsuccessful.

Taking cover inside another abandoned building wasn't going to help his cause any.

That left nowhere to go but up.

If he took to the rooftops, he could better gauge where he was. Plus, it would significantly increase the chances of his family finding him.

 _If they're even searching for me..._

A half sigh, half whimper deflated out of the injured turtle as he tilted his head back and trailed his gaze all the way up the side of the brick wall next to him.

Never before had the top of a building looked so far out of reach. He certainly wasn't going to be able to scale up to the roof with ease like he normally could. This was going to be a long, hard, _painful_ process.

Staggering over to the nearest fire escape, Donatello cast his trusty 'crutch' aside. As much as he needed it, he knew there was no way he would be able haul the broom up to the rooftop with him. Not so long as he had one bad arm and leg. He just had to pray there would be something up top to help him walk or things were going to get even more painful.

The scariest part was, without the broom, he was essentially defenseless. If Slash were to see him up on the roof, he wouldn't stand a chance against him.

 _Oh, yeah. Like you really stood a chance against him with the stupid broom..._

Though the thought of Slash being up there, waiting for him like a snake in the grass, was altogether terrifying, Donatello began his woefully slow ascent up the fire escape. What typically took him seconds seemed more like an eternity. Each time he had to pull himself up, the pain was nothing shy of excruciating, but he managed to fight through it. By the time he reached the top, what little had remained of his energy was spent. He hoisted himself up over the ledge of the roof and promptly collapsed onto the gritty surface. His fatigued limbs silently thanked him for the momentary reprieve, but as good as the reprieve felt, he knew it wasn't safe to just lay there, face down on the rooftop. Not when Slash was probably out scouring the city in search of him.

While Donnie feebly attempted to push himself up with his good arm, the familiar voice inside his head was quick to taunt him for his efforts...

" _What's the matter, Donatello? Can't get up because you're too weak? Phfffft! Figures."_

Ignoring the belittling voice as best he could, the wounded genius struggled to his feet and darted his eyes across his surroundings. Much to his relief, he was all alone on the rooftop. Not so much to his relief, he couldn't see any kind of object that he could potentially use as a crutch, which meant he was going to have to continue putting weight on his wounded leg. It was already in agony as it was. He wasn't sure just how much longer he would be able to withstand the pain.

" _Look at you. You're nothing but a disgrace."_

In an effort to focus on something other than his growing misery and the abusive voice echoing inside his brain, Donatello stared off into the distance, trying to figure out where he was. When nothing looked familiar, he shifted his gaze up to the night sky, hoping to use the stars as his guide. But, as turtle luck would have it, there wasn't a single star in sight due to the heavy cloud cover. The rain may have let up several hours ago, but the dark, rolling clouds hovering overhead still refused to go their separate ways.

 _Okay. So, what now, genius?_

There was no way he would be able to leap from building to building in the current condition he was in. Not unless the buildings were conveniently standing about a foot apart, which they weren't. Thanks to his injuries, jumping across was most definitely out of the realm of possibilities, as was swinging across. Even if he still had his grappling hook on him, he wasn't physically capable of pulling off any high-flying aerial stunts at this point. In other words, climbing up to the top of the building had been one big, monumental waste of time.

 _Somebody up there must really,_ _ **really**_ _hate me..._

What Donnie didn't realize was that somebody was actually up there on the rooftops with him.

But it didn't take the genius turtle long to figure it out.

As he stood there, trying to figure out what to do next, his entire body suddenly began to tremble out of control. Almost as though his own brain was trying to warn him of something. Terror seizing hold, Donatello spun around to see that there was someone approaching, fast and swift.

With his tongue temporarily twisted into knots, Donnie watched on in silence as the lone figure easily hurdled over to the same rooftop the wounded turtle was on and stalked towards him.

Several prolonged moments of wordless shock passed before the intellectual turtle finally found his voice again. The volume he projected took him somewhat by surprise, but he tried his darnedest not to let it show.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

The figure drew nearer, clearly not intimidated by the boisterous command, but there was a gentle expression on his face that seemed completely out of character.

"Donnie?"

"I told you to leave me alone! Haven't you already done enough?"

Holding his hands out in front of his chest to defend himself, Donnie took a couple clumsy steps backwards, which made the turtle coming towards him stop in his tracks.

It was then that Donatello noticed the tears pooling in the other turtle's fierce, green eyes. This confused the genius more than anything.

"R – Raph?"

"It's okay, Donnie. Just take it easy. I'm not gonna hurt ya."

For a moment, the wounded turtle appeared to let his guard down, but the second 'Raphael' started to approach him again, Donnie's defenses went right back up.

"No! You're just up here... to tell me how useless I am, again! I – I don't want to hear it! Just get lost!"

"I'm not goin' anywhere, little brother."

Now, it was Raph's turn to hold his hands out in front of him. Only instead of doing it to protect himself, like Donnie had, the hotheaded turtle was doing it to show submission. Donatello looked as though he was terrified of him and Raphael was merely trying to calm his younger sibling down.

Much to Raphael's dismay, another step forward managed to get Donnie even more riled up.

"Back! OFF!"

"All right." Not wanting to agitate his brother any further, Raphael took a few steps backwards, but his eyes never left Donnie. What the turtle in red saw made him want to eviscerate Slash in the most painful way possible. And it wasn't just the metal collar locked tightly around Donnie's neck that had the temperamental turtle teetering on the edge of his sanity. That collar was just the tip of the iceberg.

It looked as though there wasn't an inch of Donatello's body that hadn't been beaten, severely. Blood and bruises of seemingly every color and size stained the surface of his once-healthy skin. His face was swollen and blackened in numerous places. One hand was swathed in a blood-soaked towel, while one leg was messily wrapped with dirty bandages. His left arm was being held as though it was in an imaginary sling.

It was taking every ounce of Raphael's willpower not to start yelling out obscenities. He instead had to settle on releasing his frustrations in the form of a growl, which he tried to keep low enough that it wouldn't frighten Donnie. The wounded turtle was already frightened enough as it was.

"Please... just leave me alone."

The words were verging on desperate, sorrowful and broken. All anger shed away, exposing the hurt underneath. Donatello swayed on his feet, barely able to keep upright. Eyes narrowed and unfocused, he stared at Raph like he didn't even recognize him. All the while, he continued to slowly inch away from his 'brother.'

"It's me, Donnie. Raph. I'm right here."

"No! You're – You're not real! You're NOT!"

There was this impulsive side of Raph that wanted to grab hold of Donnie and shake some sense into him, but there was also this nagging voice inside his head reminding him just how destructive his impulsive side could be...

" _All you ever do is put everyone in danger, Donnie! You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch! You're the reason Spike's gone! I lost my best friend because of you! It was all your fault! If you weren't such a walking disaster, he'd still be here!"_

That side of him always seemed to hurt people. Even the people he cared the most about.

"I swear to you I'm real, Donnie. You're safe now. I won't let him hurt you again."

For every step that Raph took forward, Donatello took another step back, but he was running out of roof. A startling fact that he wasn't even aware of yet.

"Yeah, right! You s – said that before and you – y – you let him hurt me! You never came for me, Raph! You! Never! Came!"

Somehow, pointing out that the whole family had been looking for Donnie every night since the day he had been taken seemed rather hollow given what had happened.

The fact of the matter remained: they had failed him.

Where were they when he had needed them the most?

Posture sagging with the heaviest of remorse, Raphael's chin trembled as he whispered out his anguished response. "I know. And I'm sorry. But I'm here now."

Donatello gazed at Raphael through quivering pools of tears, wanting nothing more than to believe that his brother was actually standing there. Wanting so much to believe that that brother actually cared, but the hateful words wouldn't let him...

" _You're always sorry! I've had it up to here with your excuses, Donnie! What? It wasn't enough that you almost killed Spike? Now, you almost killed all of us with another one of your crazy experiments!"_

" _Raph... I – I didn't mean to – "_

" _I don't want to hear it anymore! You're always screwing everything up, Donnie! How many times have you nearly killed us now? How many times, huh?"_

" _Raph, please... "_

" _You're not worth saving."_

 _You're._

 _Not._

 _Worth._

 _Saving._

"No. No! You aren't m – my brother! I know you're n – not, because m – my brother... My brother doesn't – he doesn't care about me!"

"Donnie... that isn't true."

Donatello shook his head in denial, but all it did was make him even dizzier than he already was. Splotches started to swim in his vision while Slash's voice crept back into his brain...

" _How's it feel to know your family thinks so little of you, they've left you for dead?"_

Slash was right!

He had been all along!

The realization made Donatello's eyes practically triple in size and he glared at his 'brother' like he had betrayed him in the worst possible way.

"Y – You – you left m – me for dead!"

Now, it was Raph who was shaking his head in denial. He couldn't blame Donatello for thinking along that line, but it hurt to hear, nonetheless.

"No, Donnie. I know it might seem like that, but we never stopped looking. We just – We didn't know where or how to find you."

A squeak of agony could be heard as Donnie listened to the awful sound of Slash's voice continuing to mock him...

" _You think if I would've taken the almighty, fearless leader, your dear old rat dad wouldn't have found him by now? He would've combed every inch of this city to find his precious Leonardo, but not you, Donnie boy. No, not you. He doesn't care a thing about you. No one does. That's the real reason why your family hasn't found you yet."_

"You – You _**all**_ just left me!"

Horror washed over Donatello's face, and aside from the ugly bruises, all other color fled from his previously flushed cheeks. He took another giant step backwards, further distancing himself from the turtle still shaking his head.

"That's not true, Donnie. Listen to me. You're not thinking straight right now." Raph stared on in dread as Donnie edged even closer to the ledge of the rooftop. Too close for the hotheaded turtle's comfort. "Please, Donnie. You – You need to stay where you're at. Okay? Just stand still. I'm gonna come – "

The second Raph started to move towards him, Donatello panicked and instinctively backed away, but there wasn't any more rooftop behind him. Before he could even register what was happening, he was tumbling backwards over the side of the building, helplessly reaching up towards the sky above.

" **DONNIE**! **NOOOO**!"

Overwhelmed by a terrifying sense of déjà vu as he watched his little brother lose his balance, Raph launched himself towards the falling turtle as fast as he could, only to realize, yet again, he was moments too late.

His brother was already gone.

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 _ ***More Author's Notes: That is one epic cliffhanger. Unfortunately, I'm about to make it even more dramatic…**_

 _ **I'm not quite sure when I will be posting the next chapter. Maybe not for a while. I need to take a little extra time off. I'm sorry.**_

 _ **As always, please take a few moments to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on 'Slash's Revenge' to let me know if you're enjoying the story or even just to say you're still with me or send a hug. It means the world to me to receive your feedback.**_

 _ **Thank you all very, very much for your ceaseless kindness and support. They are truly appreciated.**_

 _ **Take care.**_

 _ **CJ**_


	21. Chapter 21 - Irreparable Damage

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 _ ***Author's Notes: I'm finally back with a new chapter of 'Slash's Revenge' and it's another dramatic one. I hope everybody's ready for a bit of angst…**_

 _ **Okay, I don't want to make all of you wait any longer for this long overdue update, so let's just jump right in, shall we? Thank you very, very much for reading, everyone!**_ **(ᴖ** **ᴗ** **ᴖ)**

 _ **CJ**_

* * *

 **Chapter 21 – Irreparable Damage**

"DONNIE!"

Though it was only a split second, an eternity seemed to pass as Raph frantically rushed towards the ledge of the building his younger brother had just toppled over. Then, the gut-wrenching sound of Donatello crying out for help abruptly came to a stop, right along with Raphael's momentum and his erratically beating heart.

 _No! No! No! No!_

 _He can't be... gone._

 _He can't! He just can't!_

Scared to death of what he might see if he were to look down, the hotheaded turtle just froze in place, mouth ajar, as he stared at his outstretched hand. The very same hand that had tried and failed to grab hold of his brother right before he had plunged off the rooftop.

Visions of Donatello's already battered body splayed out on the sidewalk below, lifeless and broken, made it impossible for Raph to move. It was even harder for him to breathe. He felt as if someone had filled his lungs with quick-setting cement.

Hoarsely whimpering out his younger brother's name, Raphael sealed his eyelids tightly together, but it did nothing to shut out the pain or the sound of his brother's voice inside his head...

" _It's too late, Raph. I'm already gone."_

" _This is all your fault, Raph! Slash isn't the monster! YOU are!"_

Though the words had come straight out of a nightmare, they were still unerringly true. This _was_ all Raphael's fault. All the pain and suffering his family had had to endure. Every awful thing that Slash had done to Donatello. And now... _**this**_!

 _All_ of it was Raphael's fault.

He was responsible for his own brother's –

He couldn't bring himself to complete the thought. Not without totally losing it.

"NO! Donnie, say something! _Anything_! Please!"

The silence that followed Raphael's heartfelt plea was more painful than anything he had ever experienced before.

It was a voiceless confirmation that his brother was actually –

A strangled-sounding gasp cut through the damp, night air; almost like Raphael was gagging on his own breath.

What was he going to tell his family?

 _How_ could he tell his family?

And how could he ever live with himself after what he'd done?

He couldn't.

"I'm sorry, Donnie. I'm so, so sorry." Raphael's knees were just about to buckle together when he heard a wicked cackle coming from behind him. One that he would recognize anywhere.

Suddenly, it was like there was blistering-hot lava surging through the red-clad ninja's veins and he was about to burst into flames. All the grief he was feeling inside immediately transformed into pure hatred. Pure hatred for the vile turtle now pitilessly laughing at him. Mocking his pain…

Clenching his hands into trembling fists, Raphael spun on his heels, fully intent on striking down his now most-loathed enemy, but what the hotheaded turtle saw instantly rendered him paralyzed, again.

Another gasp sounded out as Raph attempted to draw air into lungs that still refused to cooperate. For several agonizing seconds, all the red-masked turtle could do was stare straight ahead, not sure whether or not he was just seeing things because he was in shock.

Across from the building where Raphael stood, dazed and confused, a massive, spiked mutant stood, tall and proud. In one hand, the giant turtle held onto a familiar-looking grappling hook. In his other, he clung to an unconscious figure dangling limply at his side.

"D – Donnie?" That one, whisper-soft word perfectly conveyed both the distress and newfound hope Raph was feeling inside as he stared wide-eyed at the two turtles before him. Then, it finally dawned on him that his younger sibling was out cold. The temperamental brother couldn't help but to wonder why.

Anger once again bubbled to the surface.

Had Donatello passed out?

Had he cracked his head on something on the way down?

Had Slash not grabbed him in time?

A hundred and one questions popped into Raphael's head as he continued to stare at his brother's seemingly motionless form. Each scenario grew darker than the previous one, making Raph fear the worst. But as the turtle in red started to draw closer, he could see that his brother's body was trembling. While this sight came as a huge relief, it also made the hotheaded warrior's resentment towards Slash burn that much brighter.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" It was more of a demand than an actual question. Raphael stomped across the remainder of the rooftop so that only the gap between the two buildings separated he and Slash. Just close enough to see the droll little smirk playing on Slash's face, but Raph was more concerned about the fact that Donatello hadn't budged. The largest mutant was lugging the wounded turtle around without an ounce of caution while Donnie just hung there as though he was a wet rag.

" _Do_ to him? Ha! If it weren't for me, your brother'd be splattered like a bug on a windshield!"

As if the mental image of Donnie being 'splattered' wasn't disturbing enough, Slash had to go and use a 'bug' reference, making Raphael's flesh crawl.

"Just let him go, Slash!"

Peering down over the ledge of the rooftop, Slash's smirk grew even wider and his beady eyes lifted to give Raphael a vindictive wink. "You _really_ want me to let him go?"

This made Raph's muscles go rigid as haunting memories of Slash threatening to drop Mikey from a rooftop came flooding back. Somehow, the current situation seemed even more horrifying than that first encounter with Slash. Perhaps that was because Raphael now fully understood what a coldblooded monster his former pet truly was.

"Please, Slash! Please, don't hurt him anymore!"

As if on cue, the rain started to descend once again, perfectly camouflaging the single tear that rolled down Raphael's cheek, but it couldn't hide the sorrow etched on his face or the telltale quiver in his voice. Something Slash was utterly relishing in.

"And why shouldn't I? Huh? Hurting him hurts you, after all. And you deserve nothing but pain after what you did to me!"

"Maybe _I_ do, but Donnie doesn't! He's dying, Slash! Can't you see that?"

"Wh – What?" It was the same exact word that Raphael had nearly choked on when Leo had informed him that Donnie was dying. The strange thing was, Slash looked just as taken aback by the news as the hotheaded turtle had. The larger mutant's glowing eyes constricted as they fell upon the unconscious turtle in his clutches.

"Master Splinter said that Donnie's really sick and if he isn't treated soon, he – he might not make it."

"You're lying! You'd say anything to save your brother's shell!"

A vigorous shake of the head demonstrated Slash's obvious skepticism and Donatello's slack body bounced in the turbulence, but his eyes remained sealed shut.

Afraid that Slash was going to hurt Donnie even more than he already had, Raphael's heart started to thump inside his chest in an irregular rhythm. The red-masked turtle slowly moved his right hand towards his own grappling hook, preparing for the worst.

"I'm not lying, Slash! If you ever knew me at all, you'd know I've always been honest with you."

"That's a load of bull and you know it, Raphael! You said we'd be a team! That we'd be partners! But you ditched me for _them_!" The heavy scorn Slash put on the word 'them' was pure acid meant to eat away at Raph's thick skin, but the temperamental ninja let it roll off him like the rain.

"That was before you attacked my brothers! You crossed the line, Slash!" After a brief pause, Raphael's tone softened to a more rational level. "But you can change. I know you're not a killer. Don't do this! Don't make Donnie pay for my mistakes!"

"You don't know me! Not anymore!" An instant later, Slash hoisted Donatello up and it looked as if he was about to throw the injured turtle over the edge of the building, but he suddenly stopped when his eyes met Raphael's.

"Spike! Please!"

There was so much desperation in those two words – in those two eyes – that Slash's hands started to shake, just like before. He gazed at Donatello, unconscious and flaccid in his grip, and, once again, he saw red.

 _So_ _much red_!

It was everywhere.

He could still see the wire cutters. Still see the genius turtle's nearly severed finger. Still hear the shrieks and the sobbing. Still hear Donatello's frantic pleas for him to stop...

" _S – Stop! Stop! Please! Spike! I know you're still in there! P – Please! Don't let him do this!"_

" _SHUT UP! Spike isn't here anymore!"_

 _"Yes, he is! Spike, listen to me! The mutagen created Slash, but it didn't destroy you! Deep down inside, you're still Spike! The same turtle Raph took in. The same turtle he loved!"_

" _L – Loved?"_

" _Yes. He loved you... a lot more than h – he ever loved me."_

Peering over at Raphael again, Slash looked as though he was just seeing the red-masked turtle for the very first time. The larger mutant's mouth gaped open as if to speak, but the only thing that came out was a quiet exhale.

"Spike?"

Ever since his mutation, just hearing the name 'Spike' had made Slash's blood boil, but at this moment, the warmth radiating inside him felt different somehow. A floodgate of memories soon came rushing back, full force...

" _You understand me, don't you, Spike?"_

" _Oh, hey there, little guy. Y – You okay, Spike? Y – You're all good. Old Raph won't let anything happen to ya."_

" _I know you're a little worried about me. Look, I'm not gonna lie to you. We've never gone into a fight like this and... I don't know what's gonna happen. But you don't have to worry. I will make it back. I love you, man."_

" _Spike! Spike! NO!"_

Slash shook his head from side to side again, in a futile attempt to jar loose the words he didn't want to remember. "D – Don't call me that." There should have been more conviction behind his tone. More volume in his voice, but there just wasn't enough air in his lungs.

"I'm sorry. I, uh – I know you go by Slash now, but it's just – Well, I took care of you for so long, it's hard for me not to think of you as Spike. Heh. You, of all turtles, should know how stubborn I am."

The trace of a smile lifted the corners of Slash's mouth up ever-so slightly, but a low groan from Donatello tugged the expression into a grimace. The larger mutant's piercing, green eyes drifted down towards the wounded turtle now draped against his side. He couldn't help but to stare at the extensive damage he had done.

" _He's dying, Slash! Can't you see that?"_

" _But you can change. I know you're not a killer. Don't do this! Don't make Donnie pay for my mistakes!"_

" _Spike! Please!"_

The more Slash thought about it, the more he wondered if it was actually _Raphael's_ mistakes that Donatello was paying for.

Was _this_ the price Slash was willing to pay for his so-called revenge? Taking a life?

Would killing one of the brothers bring him the retribution he so coveted?

Would _this_ truly make he and Raphael even?

Another pitiful groan from Donatello sent Slash's gaze back across to the adjacent building, where the red-masked turtle stood, anxiously awaiting the larger mutant's next move. The only other time that Slash had seen Raphael look as vulnerable as he did right now was when he had looked at 'Spike.' The _real_ Spike. The one that had existed before all of _this_. Not the gigantic, ferocious creature that had heartlessly taken his brother away.

Without any warning, Donatello's body was suddenly dropped down onto the rooftop in a disheveled heap, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from the genius. The huge mutant towering over the downed turtle continued to stare at Raphael for several, long-drawn-out seconds before turning to run into the shadows.

"S – Spike!"

Though it pained him to just let Slash go, Raphael's main concern right now was his brother.

Not even waiting for the initial shock to subside, the temperamental turtle leapt across to the building where Donatello laid frighteningly still. Scooping his little brother partially up off the rooftop and cradling him in one arm, Raph used his free hand to lightly pat the side of Donatello's swollen face. The heat searing off the wounded turtle's skin was unmistakable, as was the feel of him violently trembling in Raphael's hold.

"Donnie? Wake up!"

A frail whimper was Donatello's only response.

"Come on, Donnie! Open your eyes!" Though his little brother was clearly unconscious, Raph still tried urgently to get through to him. He increased the intensity of his pats, so much so that they verged on slaps, but Donatello remained disturbingly limp. This sent a wave of panic straight through Raphael.

"Ah, shell! Ah, shell!" Reaching for his T-phone, Raphael hastily started mashing buttons until he finally got the right number. Two rings later, the sound of his older brother's disgusted voice came on.

"Raph! Why'd you hang up on me?!"

If not for the direness of the situation, the temperamental turtle would've made some snide remark in response to the fearless leader's question. As it was, Raph was too busy freaking out.

"Leo! You need to – " Not the least bit surprisingly, Leonardo cut Raphael off mid-sentence, but the hotheaded turtle was quick to return the favor.

"And why on _Earth_ would you turn off your GPS? Do you have any idea how – "

"Just shut up and listen for once, Leo! I found Donnie!"

A few stunned moments of silence followed before Leonardo stammered out his reply. "Y – You wh – what?"

"I found him, but I need your help! He's unconscious and I... I don't know what to do!"

"Okay. First things first: try to stay calm." The poorly repressed panic in Leo's voice seemed rather contradictory, given what he had just said, but his next line came out far more confident sounding. Like he had somehow channeled Master Splinter's eternal patience. "Now, tell me where you are."

"I – I'm not sure. May – Maybe a few miles from the apartment building where Slash was... where he was holding Donnie prisoner." Biting back a growl, Raph scanned the area for something familiar. Anything that might lead the rest of his family to his current location. "I – I don't see any street signs or businesses I recognize. There's a, um – there's a billboard for the Channel 6 News a few rooftops from where I'm at."

"Good, good. That's a start. Now, I need you to turn your tracker back on so we can head towards you."

Though he knew Leonardo couldn't see the gesture, Raphael nodded his understanding. The hotheaded turtle's usual stubborn pride was nowhere to be found; replaced by a sense of hopelessness and despair. A fact that his older brother must have been well-aware of based on the deliberate gentleness in his tone. Leonardo was speaking to him like he was some scared little kid.

In a way, Raph was...

"Hurry, Leo! He's burning up! And there's – there's a lot of blood! This is bad. This is really, _really_ bad."

"It's gonna be okay, Raphael. We're coming to get you. Until then, I want you to do whatever you can to stop the bleeding and keep him comfortable, all right?"

Tears sprung from Raph's eyes the moment he heard the words 'It's gonna be okay.' The same exact words he had spoken to his genius brother that fateful night...

" _Listen, Donnie! It's gonna be okay. You've just gotta hold on for a little bit longer. Can you do that for me? I promise you that I'm gonna find you soon. I won't let him hurt you again, little brother. And I swear on my life that I will make him pay!"_

They had been lies.

Nothing but lies!

"Raph?"

"Yeah?" Raphael's response sounded more like a ragged exhale than an actual word. Maybe that was because he felt as though someone was tightening a vice around his airway, slowly squeezing the life out of him.

" _I won't let him hurt you again, little brother."_

Gaze drifting back down towards Donatello, Raphael stared at the visual evidence of just how wrong that promise had been. The rain had rinsed away some of the blood and filth, but it could not wash away the countless wounds and scars that lie deep beneath the surface.

Scars that may never heal...

"I know it's hard, Raph, but you have to pull yourself together. Remember, that's what you told me the night Slash took Donnie? You said Donnie needs us all to stay strong right now. Well, that's what he needs from _you_ right now. He needs you to be our stubborn-as-shell hothead."

There was a long pause before the red-clad turtle's voice finally came back on the line, dull and cracked, like brittle paper.

"I did this to him, Leo."

Though he hated himself for it, the leader had no choice but to be painfully blunt. Sympathy was a luxury he simply could not afford at this moment. Not when his genius brother's life was at stake. "You can blame yourself for everything later, Raphael! Right now, you have to stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about Donnie!" Gone was the gentleness in Leonardo's tone; buried by the anger he had been trying so adamantly to hide. Not just tonight, but for the past eleven days now.

A bit stunned by his older brother's chilling brusqueness, Raph's defensive side instinctively reared its ugly head, but he soon realized that everything Leonardo had said was spot-on. All this 'woe is me' crap wasn't doing Donnie any good.

"I hate it when you're right. You know that?"

"Yeah. I know."

A fleeting smile passed Raph's lips, but a moment later, his frown returned, even deeper than before. The grim reality of what had come to pass lie bleeding in his grasp.

"Just get your shell in gear, okay? I'm not the only one Donnie needs right now." The call disconnected from Leo's end, telling the hotheaded turtle that his big brother was already on the way.

Sucking in a winded breath, Raphael carefully lowered Donatello's unresponsive form until it was level with the rooftop surface. The older turtle then began the painful process of trying to repair the damage that had been done.

But deep down inside, Raph knew he could never truly fix _this_.

Even if his little brother managed to pull through, some things would still be forever broken.

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 _ ***More Author's Notes: This poor family. Haven't they been through enough? Ugh! How could I be so cruel to them when I love them so much? Shame on me!**_

 _ **As always, please take a moment to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on 'Slash's Revenge' if you are enjoying the story and want to see more. Pretty please! I really appreciate the feedback and it's super nice to know if people are still reading. I truly hope everyone liked the chapter. Please say so if you did…**_

 _ **Thanks so much for reading.**_

 _ **CJ**_

 _ **PS – New 'TMNT Shell Shot' coming soon!**_ ٩ **(^ᴗ^)** ۶


	22. Chapter 22 - No Hope in Shell

_***Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.**_

 _ ***Author's Notes: At long last, here is chapter 22 of 'Slash's Revenge.' I sure hope everyone's still with me.**_

 _ **Thank you so much to my readers, followers, and friends. I adore ALL of you!**_

 _ **CJ**_

* * *

 **Chapter 22 – No Hope in Shell**

Body arched forward and fists tightly clamped behind him, Leonardo continued to sprint across the rooftops at breakneck speed. Every so often, he would check his T-phone to confirm he was still heading in the right direction, but he never let this slow his stride. All the while, Michelangelo and Master Splinter maintained the same fervent pace as the eldest turtle, not wanting to fall behind. They were both reasonably certain Leonardo would leave them in the dust if they failed to keep up with him. He hadn't even bothered to look back to see if they were following.

Entirely caught up in his thoughts, the turtle in blue had barely spoken a word since taking to the rooftops. Of course, his refusal to talk may have also had something to do with Mikey repeatedly – and annoyingly – asking what Raphael had said…

" _So, what'd Raph tell you, Leo?"_

" _Just that he'd found Donnie and they're on a rooftop by a Channel 6 News billboard."_

" _Well, he must have said something about Donnie's condition. Is he okay?"_

" _Raph said he's unconscious."_

" _Unconscious! Dude! Why's he unconscious? What happened to him?"_

" _I don't know, Mikey. That's why we need to find them. Now, let's go!"_

" _But you still didn't tell us what Raph_ _ **actually**_ _said about Donnie, Leo! Are you trying to hide something?"_

Leonardo knew his baby brother was just concerned about Donatello, but due to the extremely stressful circumstances, the broken-record approach had been grating on the eldest turtle's nerves, big time. Fortunately, Master Splinter must have noticed this. His astute intervention had succeeded in putting a swift end to Mikey's exasperating interrogation…

" _My son, your concern for your brother is understandable, but for the time being, I believe it would be best to do as Leonardo says without further question."_

It had been the nicest way to tell someone to 'shut up' Leo had ever heard. And, as an added bonus, it had worked like a charm. Michelangelo had been unusually quiet ever since. While, at first, this had seemed like a blessing, the oldest turtle was now starting to worry about the youngest one. It wasn't like Mikey to go more than a minute or two without making _some_ kind of noise. The silence was most likely a cry for help, indicating just how much he was hurting inside.

 _We all are, Mikey…_

The sound of his T-phone ringing out mercifully interrupted Leo from his troubled thoughts. Without missing a beat, he snatched up the phone and held it up to his ear slit. "Yeah?"

"Yo, Leo. I got the Shellraiser, just like you said. This baby is super sweet! How come you never – "

Forgoing manners in the interest of time, Leo's uncharacteristically gruff voice stopped the caller's sentence short.

"Okay, now I need you to head towards Raph's GPS location. We'll explain more when you get there. In the meantime, try not to get pulled over or hit anything along the way."

"No worries, Leo. Casey Jones is an awesome driver. See ya in a few."

No sooner had the call ended when the turtle in blue's face stretched into a grimace.

If Donatello ever found out that Leonardo had actually asked Casey Jones to drive the Shellraiser, there would no doubt be severe consequences, but the oldest turtle couldn't see any other way around it. If Donatello was in as bad of shape as Master Splinter and Raph had claimed, they couldn't waste precious time lugging him halfway across the city. The Shellraiser was hands down the best option they had. And since Leonardo needed April to stay back at the lair to get the infirmary ready for their arrival, he had been forced to enlist Casey's help. As much as Leo didn't like the idea of the rather reckless teenager cruising around the city in Donatello's most-prized invention, the eldest turtle hadn't had much of a choice. He simply couldn't trust Casey with getting the infirmary set up. Leonardo may not have known the human boy all that well, having just met him a couple of weeks ago, but the leader in blue already felt fairly confident that, if left alone inside of Donnie's lab, Casey Jones would destroy everything in sight, including himself.

Tucking his T-phone back inside his belt, Leonardo continued to dart across the rooftops as though he was on autopilot. Tunnel vision fixed straight ahead, the oldest turtle focused solely on what was in front of him. According to his GPS, Raph was only about a half mile away, which meant they should spot the Channel 6 billboard sign any second.

As if he had tapped directly into Leonardo's thoughts, Mikey's voice finally rang out for the first time in ten minutes, loud and boisterous as ever. "THERE IT IS!"

With that said, the blue-masked turtle popped his head up to lay his all-white eyes on the billboard sign they had been searching for. Then, it was Master Splinter who broke his silence.

"I see them!"

Rushing past Leonardo as though he was standing still, the old rat revealed he had intentionally been lagging behind the whole time.

The leader's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment while his mouth turned down into a pout. A dozen or so demeaning turtle jokes came to mind, each one more belittling than the last. Leonardo just hoped Master Splinter would spare him the humiliation of voicing the obvious terrapin stereotypes that went along with being slow.

Swallowing his pride, Leo rushed towards the rooftop where Master Splinter had already dropped into a kneeling position. Every step closer the oldest turtle got, the more his stomach twisted into knots. He had tried to prepare himself for the worst, but it still wasn't enough.

The way Raphael was hunched over Donnie just about made Leo fall to his own knees and the terrified leader's momentum and breathing all but stopped.

 _No!_

"DONNIE!" Mikey raced past his oldest brother to get to his other two siblings. A moment later, he, too, was down on his knees. Panic immediately setting in.

At long last, Leo made his way over to them. Though it had only taken him an extra second or two to get there, it had felt like hours. As soon as he was standing beside his family, he also dropped down to the rooftop and hovered over the genius turtle. Mouth ajar, unable to form any actual words, Leo could only gape down at Donatello's severely beaten body. That night Slash had first attacked them was nothing compared to the gruesome wounds that seemingly covered every inch of Donnie's skin.

 _This!_

 _This_ was just plain evil.

While Donatello's three brothers sat there, trying and failing to take it all in, Master Splinter began the gut-wrenching task of examining his brilliant son's many injuries. The dutiful father's long face was pinched into a bitter scowl, leaving no question just how utterly appalled he was by Donatello's deplorable condition.

Afraid his anger might come pouring out, Splinter tightened his lips into a thin line as he continued his examination.

Before long, the silence grew too heavy for the brothers to stand. A very distraught Michelangelo was the first to speak.

"Is – Is Donnie gonna be okay, Sensei? Why's he still unconscious?"

"I do not know, my son."

The response made Mikey's jaw tremble with sorrow; unsure which question Master Splinter had been answering. Either way, the youngest turtle knew things were really, really bad. He could tell just by the way his two oldest brothers were acting.

"I tried and tried, but I – I couldn't get him to wake up." The agony in Raph's voice was palpable, making him sound years younger than he was. He was clinging tightly to Donatello's hand that was swathed in a strip of tattered, crimson fabric.

When Leo noticed the familiar red material, he looked over at his hotheaded brother and soon discovered that Raphael's mask and wraps had been removed. No doubt he had used them to try to staunch the blood flow, but there were still more wounds that needed to be treated. Following Raphael's lead, Leonardo quickly started to remove his own mask and wraps. A moment later, Mikey was doing the same, eager to help in any way he could.

"Tell me what you have learned of his injuries so far, Raphael."

The temperamental turtle peered up at his father with a wide-eyed expression.

How could Sensei possibly expect him to answer such a question without totally losing it?

As Raphael struggled with how to respond, Leonardo's most soothing tone sounded out, soft and compassionate.

"Just tell us what you can, Raph."

These words immediately triggered the memory of something else the oldest turtle had said not all that long ago…

" _I know it's hard, Raph, but you have to pull yourself together."_

A slight nod of the head indicated the red-clad turtle's accord. He apprehensively cleared his throat before speaking in a fragile voice that sounded nothing like his own. It was as if someone had turned his volume down to the lowest setting. "His leg... it's, uh... it's pretty infected. And his hand... it looks… it looks like… his finger was… just about cut off."

A loud gasp from Michelangelo caused Raph to stop and stare down at Donatello's mangled hand, which was still firmly clutched in the hotheaded turtle's own blood-stained hand. Raphael was trying to apply pressure to the wounds, while at the same time, hold onto his critically injured little brother for dear life.

"You are doing well, Raphael. What else can you tell us, my son?"

 _Haven't I said enough already?_ Raph thought miserably, but forced himself to continue for Donnie's sake…

" _Right now, you have to stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about Donnie!"_

"When I… When I found him... he was totally out of it. He kept saying I wasn't real… like he was hallucinating or something. Maybe it's because he's got a really high fever?"

"That is one possibility, yes. There are a great number of things that could contribute to such a state." As he muttered his uneasy response, Master Splinter tenderly wrapped Michelangelo's bright-orange mask around a deep cut on Donatello's less-injured thigh. The father was doing anything he could to distract himself from the metal collar still latched around his gentlest son's neck. Something that would surely need to be removed upon their return home, but it currently posed no threat to his child's life.

It did, however, pose a serious threat to Slash's life.

No one treated one of Hamato Yoshi's children in such an inhumane manner.

No. One.

"How could someone possibly be so cruel and heartless? Donnie – he never did anything to hurt anyone."

"You're right, Mikey. The person who did this to him is nothing more than a coldblooded monster." Eyes still fixed on Donatello, Raph let his tears dribble uncontested down his face. This time, not even the rain could hide them. The added moisture didn't go unnoticed by his family.

As if taking a page straight out of the Captain Ryan playbook, Leonardo spoke with so much conviction, it was almost laughable. "Don't worry. Slash isn't going to get away with this."

"I wasn't talking about Slash... "

They all knew what Raphael meant by this statement, but no one tried to debate it. They were all battling with their own inner demons at this point.

Raph hung his head down even further than it already was, as his own voice began to mercilessly mock him yet again, with all the sympathy of a gunshot to the gut…

" _You're always sorry! I've had it up to here with your excuses, Donnie! What? It wasn't enough that you almost killed Spike? Now, you almost killed all of us with another one of your crazy experiments!"_

" _I don't want to hear it anymore! You're always screwing everything up, Donnie! How many times have you nearly killed us now? How many times, huh?"_

" _All you ever do is put everyone in danger, Donnie! You're supposed to be the smart one, but you ruin everything you touch! You're the reason Spike's gone! I lost my best friend because of you! It was all your fault! If you weren't such a walking disaster, he'd still be here!"_

Then, it was Donatello's ominous voice relentlessly taunting him…

" _You did this to me, Raph!"_

" _You sent me off to my death!"_

" _You aren't m – my brother! I know you're n – not, because m – my brother... My brother doesn't – he doesn't care about me!"_

" _Y – You – you left m – me for dead!"_

" _It's too late, Raph. I'm already gone."_

With the obvious exception of Donnie's, all eyes were now upon Raphael. The turtle in red could feel their heavy stares burning holes into his flesh, but he refused to look up. Not because he was scared to see their reactions, but because he was too ashamed to lift his head.

"He's gonna die because of me."

Another gasp squeaked out of Mikey before his indignance took center stage. "Dude! Don't say that! Donnie's gonna be fine! He's gonna be just fine!"

Raph vigorously shook his head, unable to forget the words from his nightmare…

" _It's too late, Raph. I'm already gone."_

"If we lose him, it'll be – "

" **SHUT! UP!** "

One would have thought that those two words had come from the youngest turtle, who was clearly the most emotional member of the family. Not just now, but at all times. But the words weren't spoken in denial or hurt, like they would have been if Mikey would have said them. They were spoken out of sheer, unadulterated rage. So much rage, it was enough to make Raphael finally look up, and the moment he did, he saw the fire smoldering in his older brother's stormy blue eyes.

Before Leo had a chance to further demonstrate his anger, his T-phone blared out, cutting through the thick tension like a sharp knife.

"Talk to me, Casey."

"Hey! The GPS says you're right above me. Can you guys see the Shellraiser?"

Grateful for the excuse to get up and walk away, Leonardo peered over the side of building and breathed out a tremendous sigh of relief. Mostly because he saw the Shellraiser parked in the alley below them, but also, because the vehicle still appeared to be in one piece.

Leo wasn't exactly sure who he had to thank for that, but he was eternally indebted to whomever it may be.

"Yeah. I see it. Guys! Casey's here." The clipped, no-nonsense tone of Leonardo's voice signaled that he had shifted into full-on leader mode.

Though his family craved an explanation for Leonardo's unexpected outburst, they understood this sudden new mood change. The need to get Donatello back home far outweighed _anything_ else right now.

"How are we gonna get him down there without hurting him more?" Michelangelo asked in a whisper-soft voice, clearly worried about his injured brother's safety.

Without so much as a word, Master Splinter crouched over Donatello's unconscious form and lovingly gathered him up into his arms, like the teenager was a sleeping infant. The father held his son this way for a prolonged moment before carefully hoisting his wounded child over one shoulder. Donatello emitted several whimpers of pain, but otherwise, remained unresponsive.

None of the boys questioned their father's decision to forgo any assistance. They knew from firsthand experience it wasn't wise to mess with Master Splinter. Especially during times of crises. Plus, it almost felt as if they would be intruding on the poignant moment between father and son.

True to form, Leonardo led the way down the side of the building. Master Splinter followed closely on his heels with relative ease considering the substantial weight of his cargo. Mikey was next in line, matching the tempo set by his oldest brother. Raphael lingered behind them, moving at a deliberately slower pace. As he made his way down to the pavement below, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching them, but the presence didn't feel threatening like it had before.

Something had changed.

Something Raphael couldn't quite explain for the life of him.

Gazing through the dense shadows surrounding them, Raphael half-expected to spot a pair of equally fierce green eyes shining back at him, but there was nothing.

Perhaps, it had just been paranoia.

But the feeling was so strong.

A feeling he hadn't felt for some time now.

Not since before he had lost –

 _Spike_ …

Fighting back yet another round of tears, the temperamental turtle realized that what he was searching for; what he was desperately hoping to find was long gone. On the heaviest of feet, Raphael climbed inside the Shellraiser and settled in next to his badly injured brother. Less than a second later, Raph buried his face in his trembling hands, attempting to muffle the sob that somehow managed to escape the recesses of his throat.

He couldn't go through this again. It was all too much to bear.

Losing Spike had broken Raphael's heart beyond repair.

But losing his little brother?

That would completely destroy him.

There's no way in shell he could possibly go on without Donnie.

No way _any_ of them could.

If Donnie didn't survive this, Raphael didn't know what he was going to do. His family would _**never**_ forgive him. Sure, they had claimed, over and over again, that he wasn't responsible for what had happened, but Raphael had seen the look on Leonardo's face just minutes ago. He had heard the unmistakable hostility in his older brother's voice. Leo blamed him. They _all_ did. They could deny it all they wanted, but the fact of the matter remained: Raphael was the reason Donatello was dying.

He was _**DYING**_!

A fact that was now killing the hotheaded turtle as well.

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 _ ***More Author's Notes: Ouch! This chapter makes my heart hurt. The family is finally reunited, but it's definitely not a happy reunion. Poor Donnie. Poor Raph. Poor everybody.**_

 _ **If you're still reading this story, please, oh please, let me know and take a moment to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on. I would absolutely love, love, LOVE to hear from everyone and could really use the positive feedback. Things have been a bit rough lately… /**_ **(,o** **︵** **o,** **)\**

 _ **As always, thanks so much for reading.**_

 _ **CJ**_


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